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Text File | 1995-06-11 | 22.4 KB | 657 lines

!Help for !PickAPic: Note: if you run the RISC-OS !Help application you will get context-sensitive help about many of the program's features. Also note: PLEASE READ THE NOTE AT THE END OF THIS FILE ON UPDATES, COPYRIGHT, ETC NEW in version 1.15 ..... a) Saving thumbnails (in a directory called !ThumStore) for much quicker loading and for viewing even if the source disc is not present. b) Textual descriptions and category names saved with the thumbnails c) Thumbnails created and displayed a directory at a time; sub-directories and archives indicated by standard icons which can be opened by double-clicking 'Multisprite' files treated in the same way. d) File names (or sprite names) shown under the thumbnails. e) Improved user interface (shorter menus, RISC OS 3 style appearance, better Choices dialogue, more meaningful messages, etc.) Purpose ------- The main purpose of the programme is to make it easier to browse through files of sprites, drawfiles and Poster and ArtWorks files on disc and choose individual pictures to import into DTP documents, etc. The programme will scan through a directory and display on the screen "thumbnail" copies (rather like those in a !Paint window) of all the pictures it finds. You can then choose the ones you want by simply dragging or clicking the pictures. For speedier loading you can save the thumbnails in an accompanying !ThumStore directory, and for reference you can add textual descriptions and category names. The programme also allows you to produce catalogues of your pictures either in text form or in illustrated form (a drawfile containing thumbnail sprites together with filenames, etc.). You can also convert drawfiles, etc. into sprites of any size and in any mode. Some Suggested Uses -------------- 1) Bringing pictures into frames in a DTP document (to do this simply drag a thumbnail from the !PickAPic window into a DTP frame). 2) Choosing additional borders for use in Impression 3) Choosing moulds and paths for use in Poster. 4) Picking pre-drawn symbols for use in a drawfile (e.g. musical symbols in a musical score, kitchen units in a kitchen design). 5) Sprites without palettes normally appear with false colours when imported into Impression, Draw, etc. However, if they are imported from !PickAPic via the Big Picture Save option the sprites that are created have palettes and will therefore be displayed correctly. Installation ---------- To install on a hard disc, or any disc other than the one on which the program is supplied, simply: (i) copy !PickAPic (ii) if you want to use !ThumStore, copy it as well; you can put it on any disc and in any directory that you like, however you will probably find it convenient to have it in the same place as PickAPic so long as there is enough space on the disc. (since PickAPic frequently refers to !ThumStore it is better to have it on a hard disc if possible) (iii) since the operating system will register the first copy of !ThumStore that is 'seen' in a Filer window you should now double click on the new copy of !ThumStore so that PickAPic will refer to this copy; when you use PickAPic in future it will not be necessary to double click on !ThumStore provided it has been 'seen' in a Filer window before you use PickAPic. (iv) if you never intend to use PickAPic with ArtWorks pictures you can save disc space by removing all the files except 'Drawfile' from the RMStore sub-directory of !PickAPic and modifying the !Run file (see paragraph 18 below). How to use ---------- 1) Run the application to put the !PickAPic icon on the icon bar. 2) Drag either a file or a directory icon from a directory window or from an application's save box: !PickAPic will then scan the file or directory and load all the pictures (sprites, Draw files, Poster or ArtWorks files) contained therein. (Note: unlike earlier versions scanning of directories is no longer recursive- i.e. sub-directories will not be scanned at this stage.) If it seems likely that the loading process will take a long time (because there are a lot of pictures or more than just a few vector graphics) it will ask if you want to continue. If the ThumStore contains details for the pictures in the directory, PickAPic will use them rather than recreating thumbnails. This is usually much quicker, especially if there are large files or complex vector graphics. If the ThumStore contains details for the pictures in the directory and its parent and any other "ancestor" directories up to the root, you can view the pictures without needing to load the disc via the icon bar menu ... see 11(c) below. 3) Pictures that are loaded are displayed as thumbnail sprites in !PickAPic's main window. 4) Further files or directories can be loaded by dragging either to the icon bar icon or into !PickAPic's window. Note, however, that these will replace the lot that were loaded previously. (If you want to display two lots of pictures run !PickAPic twice.) 5) If a directory contains sub-directories or archive files the thumbnail window will show standard directory or archive icons. Double-clicking on one of these will cause the contents of that directory or archive to be loaded in place of the current set of thumbnails. Similarly, if the directory contains sprite files containing more than one sprite (referred to here as 'multisprite' files) these will be represented by standard spritefile icons. Double-clicking on one of these will cause the contents of the multisprite file to be loaded. 6) If you want to display the contents of the root directory of a disc, first load one picture file or a sub-directory, then open the parent by either clicking with the right ('Adjust') mouse button on the Close icon of the thumbnails window or by choosing the Open Parent option from the Misc sub-menu. 7) Dragging one of the thumbnail sprites from !PickAPic into an application or into a Filer window should achieve the same result as dragging from a filer window. Note that it is the original file from the disc, not !PickAPic's thumbnail copy, that is loaded or copied. Note also that if you drag the thumbnail of a sprite from a multisprite file that particular sprite will be loaded. 8) Clicking the Adjust (right-hand) button with the pointer over one of the thumbnails will pop up a window displaying a larger copy of the picture and some information about it, including a textual description and category name (if these have been recorded) plus the name and length of the file and, if it is a sprite, its spritename. (I realise that using Adjust clicking in this way departs from RISC OS orthodoxy and have therefore provided an option to switch the facility off ... see para 11(d)(iv) below.) This pop-up window will disappear when you move the pointer outside it. 9) Clicking the Menu (middle) button over the thumbnails window gives the following options: (a) Misc - this leads to a submenu giving the following options: (i) Info - information about !PickAPic (ii) Change directory - this leads to a choice of two options: to view the pictures in the parent of the current directory (unless the current directory is the root) or to view the pictures in the root directory of the current disc; (iii) Refresh Thumbnails - recreates thumbnail sprites from the source picture files; this will most often be used when you are using pictures from the ThumStore but the source pictures have changed; after refreshing you can save the new thumbnails by selecting the ThumStore option from the Save sub-menu; PickAPic will preserve any textual descriptions and category names currently in memory provided the file names (or sprite names) agree; (iv) Delete from ThumStore - deletes the contents of ThumStore (thumbnail pictures, plus descriptions and category names) relating to the pictures in the current directory; you will first be asked if you are sure (v) Clear from memory - this clears the current set of pictures from memory and removes the window (b) Picture - if the Menu button was clicked while the pointer was not over a thumbnail this is greyed out; if the pointer was over a thumbnail this leads to a submenu giving two options relating to that picture: (i) Info - this leads to a box showing information about the picture (this pops up immediately whereas the Big Picture has to be regenerated from the disc file and may take some time to produce); you can input a category name and/or descriptive text by typing into the spaces at the bottom of this window then clicking on "Set" or pressing <Return> or closing the window. (ii) Big Picture - this pops up the same window as 8) above. (c) Save - this leads to a submenu giving the following options: (i) Catalogue - leads to a Save box: if you drag the drawfile icon to a Filer window the thumbnails will be saved as a drawfile containing sprites. See 16) below for details of the various options. (ii) Listing - leads to another Save box: if you drag the Textfile icon to a Filer window or a suitable application the picture details will be listed and saved in a text file. CSV (comma separated values) format is used since this is convenient for importing into Impression and certain other applications. Again, for some reason Impression won't allow you to drag the icon straight into one of its windows. If you import a CSV file into Impression using the "CSV loader module" the text will be automatically arranged in columns. (iii) ThumStore - this leads to a submenu with a choice of three options to save sets of thumbnails in the !ThumStore (see para 20 below). These are saved along with any category names and textual descriptions that you have input in the Picture Info window. The first submenu option saves just the current set of thumbnails realting to pictures in the current directory; the second option works down the menu hierarchy from the current directory and creates then saves thumbnails for all the subdirectories as well; the third option does the same for the whole disc. 10) Clicking the Menu button over the pop-up window displaying a big picture gives an option to save the contents of that window as a sprite, as well as an option to close the window (in case you don't realise that the easier way to close it is simply to move the pointer outside it!) 11) Clicking the Menu button over the icon bar gives the following options: (a) Info - same as in (9)(a)(i) above (b) Help - displays this file! (c) ThumStore - leads to a sub-menu giving the following options: (i) View - leads to a sub-menu listing the names of the discs for which the ThumStore contains details of some or all of the pictures. Selecting one of these names will cause PickAPic to try to display the pictures in the root directory of that disc; if the ThumStore contains details of these pictures they will be used, otherwise PickAPic will create thumbnails from the source disc if it is present (or if you insert it when prompted). (ii) Delete - leads to a sub-menu listing the names of the discs for which the ThumStore contains details of some or all of the pictures. Selecting one of these names will cause PickAPic to delete the contents of ThumStore (thumbnail pictures, plus descriptions and category names) relating to all the pictures on that disc. You will first be asked if you are sure. (d) Choices - opens a dialogue box from which you can set various preferences; these are arranged in four groups and you can switch between them by clicking on the index tabs at the top; the buttons at the bottom have the following effect: Cancel: closes the window without applying any changes Restore defaults: resets all the choices to those with which the program is supplied; these are reflected in the window and applied immediately Save: applies the choices which have been set in the window and saves them on disc so that they will be used the next time PickAPic is run Apply these choices: applies the choices and closes the window. The choices that can be set are as follows: (i) Thumbnails: the size of the thumbnails (the smaller they are the more you can fit on the screen and the less memory they need, the larger they are the better definition you get) the screen mode of the thumbnails (this affects the memory needed as well as resolution and colour ... if the pictures are black & white you might as well use, say, mode 18 rather than mode 20 if memory is limited.) If you select "Current screen mode" the programme will default to using the mode that is current when the thumbnails are created. (ii) Big Picture: size and screen mode of the Big Picture sprite (the same comments apply as for the Thumbnails choices) (iii) Catalogue: the default size, mode and resolution used for output of thumbnails in drawfiles (see 16 below) (iv) Misc: whether sprites which are smaller than the configured thumbnail or big picture size are scaled up to fill the space available whether or not to allow the facility of popping up the Big Picture window when Adjust clicking over a thumbnail (see 8 above). 12) Double-clicking with the Select (left-hand) button over a thumbnail will have the same effect as double-clicking on the icon in a filer window: i.e. if !Paint, !Draw, !Poster or !ArtWorks have been "seen" the relevant file will be loaded into the appropriate application. 13) When the size of the main window is changed the thumbnails will be rearranged inside it in much the same way as the icons in a Filer window. 14) If the main window has been closed it can be reopened by Select clicking on the icon bar icon. 15) If a window is hidden or partially hidden a Select click on the icon bar icon will bring it to the front. 16) Catalogue options: The options in the Save Catalogue dialogue window allow you to set the size of the sprites within the drawfile, which determines the number that will fit onto a page, and their mode (which is mainly useful for determining the number of colours and therefore the size of the file). You can also either set the horizontal resolution of the sprites (in pixels per inch) or you can instruct the program to copy the sprites as displayed on the screen into the file. The point of the latter is that it is much quicker since the program doesn't have to generate new sprites. If you choose this latter option the X resolution icon will be greyed out but will show the resolution that will result from using the existing sprites at the given size. The other option that you can set is the text that will appear as the heading at the top of each page. The window also contains two grey icons showing the number of pictures on each page and the number of pages that will be created (these obviously depend on the size that you have set.) The page size is taken from the printer driver if one is loaded, otherwise an A4 page with half-inch margins is assumed. Note that if you find that parts of the page are cut off when you print it out you may be able to solve the problem by dragging the drawfile into a frame in Impression (or similar program) which is slightly smaller than full page size. If there are too many sprites to fit onto one page, a directory will be opened (with the name given in the Save box) containing drawfiles called Page1, Page2, etc. If they fit onto one page it should be possible to drag the drawfile into an application window ... Draw and DrawPlus accept it, but for some reason Impression doesn't, so if you want to take the file into Impression you have to save to a disc (or the RAM disc) first and then drag into Impression. 17) Where pathnames are too long to display (either in the Big Picture window or underneath the thumbnails when saved in drawfile form) then they are truncated from the root downwards and each missing directory is indicated by a dot. 18) Preferences set in the !Run file: a) Because the Artworks rendering modules take up so much disc space, I have included an OS variable "AWRM$Dir" which determines the path where the ArtWorks rendering modules can be found. If you already have them on your hard disc you can edit the !Run file so that this refers to the appropriate directory (which might be a sub- directory of !ArtWorks or !Impress) and then you can delete all the AW modules from the RMStore sub-directory in your working copy of !PickAPic. b) If you want !PickAPic to ignore ArtWorks files altogether you can edit the !Run file so that AWRM$Dir is set to "FALSE". This will save the time and RAM taken by loading the modules. You can also save disc space by deleting the RMStore sub-directory in your working copy of !PickAPic. 19) Further notes on ArtWorks rendering: a) I have not been able to find out how to plot ArtWorks files to sprites which have a different number of colours from the current screen mode. If you try to do this, !PickAPic will object and ask you to change either the sprite mode or the screen mode before trying again. b) Computer Concepts have pointed out that the current version of the ArtWorks Render module will not render pictures produced from ArtWorks version 1.5 if they contain any 24bpp images. 20) Note on Drawfile rendering: Since the DrawFile module seems to produce false colours when the program attempts to render to a 256-colour mode sprite while the screen mode has 16 colours or less, I have made the program ignore the module in these circumstances and revert to the slower Basic Drawfile rendering procedures. (I think the problem arises because the program creates sprites in 256 colour modes without palettes in order to save space. There is thus a trade-off between speed and the space occupied by the thumbnail sprites.) 21) Notes on !ThumStore: You can have as many separate !ThumStore directories as you like. To switch between them simply double-click at any time on the one that you want to use next. To create a new !ThumStore open up the ThumStores directory supplied with PickAPic then open the Blank sub-directory and copy !ThumStore to a convenient place on any disc. Because !ThumStore identifies discs by name it is essential to use unique disc names. It is much more convenient if the ThumStore contains details for the root directory and all intermediate directories in the hierarchy between the root and any sub-directory that you want to access from the ThumStore, because otherwise you won't be able to view the pictures in the sub-directory without inserting the disc. Although the contents of !ThumStore are compressed using the Squash module, they can take up a lot of space. The ratio of ThumStore size to the space occupied by the source files can be particularly high for small, simple drawfiles. If disc space is limited I suggest that you give priority to directories containing more complex vector graphics and large spritefiles. 22) Notes on textual descriptions and category names: PickAPic allows an average of about 40 bytes per picture; provided you keep within this average you can have a mixture of long and short texts. Texts can be input, added to or changed in the Picture⇨Info window (see para (9)(b)(i)). Texts are saved in the !ThumStore directory, along with thumbnail pictures, when you choose the Save⇨ThumStore menu option. Any texts saved in !ThumStore are automatically loaded when PickAPic loads thumbnail pictures for the relevant directory from !ThumStore. Any texts currently in memory are preserved when the Misc⇨Refresh Thumbnails menu option is selected. Updates, Copyright, etc. ----------- The ideas for this programme have been borrowed from a variety of sources, and modified and amplified by me with the help of friends' suggestions; the code is my own (apart from some standard routines for window and menu management and plotting drawfiles in RISC OS 2). The application can be freely copied (provided this note is copied with it), but not sold or used in any other way for financial gain without my permission. (Norwich Computer Services have permission to distribute it, if they want, in the form of Shareware or Careware. Arch Angel PD also have permission along with my gratitude for taking the trouble to test the software and make constructive comments, as does The Datafile along with my gratitude for sending me a copy of Acorn's "DrawFile" module which considerably speeds up the rendering of Draw files in RISC OS 3. Other PD libraries may distribute it if they have my written permission. APDL, Arm Club, DataStream, Five Star Marketing and RiscUser have this permission already.) I am grateful to Charles Moir of Computer Concepts for permission to use the ArtWorks rendering code, and to Acorn for making their DrawFile module available. Many thanks also to Michael Rozdoba for his many very helpful comments and suggestions, and for supplying much additional code; also to Matthew Fifield of Matt Black for much encouragement and many suggestions. You will appreciate that getting this far has taken a considerable amount of time and effort. If you enjoy the program, and especially if you find it useful, and you feel like sending me some money I would not be at all offended! Doubtless there will be bugs to fix and other modifications. If you want upgrades please send me whatever contribution towards my costs you think appropriate. I would welcome any complaints, criticisms, comments, suggestions for modification or improvement, etc. that you may have. Please send them to: Hugh Eagle 48 Smithbarn, Horsham, Sussex, RH13 6DX 01403-266728 (If you write, let me know where you got the programme from and what version number you have ... choose the Info option from the menu.) Note: if this text whizzed past too fast for you to read, try loading !Edit before choosing the Help menu option for !PickAPic again.