Loadstar 128 #11/q11.d81/t.paint 128 ii

Text File | 1990-01-01 | 15.7 KB | 353 lines

                            P A I N T   1 2 8   II

                               by Peter Marions

     One of the main reasons people like the C-128 is the 80-column screen,
but it's not very easy to work with outside the straight text mode.  BASIC
8, by Lou Wallace and David Darus, is a programming language that allows
programmers to do things that would take an unreasonable amount of BASIC 7.0
code to do.  But what about non-programmers?

     PAINT 128 was the answer.  We published it on LOADSTAR 128 #8 and had
many comments and suggestions for it.  Where's the ZOOM mode?  How about big
fonts?  Mouse support?  I passed these on to Peter Marions, master
programmer from Sweden, and he answered with PAINT 128 II, which has many
new features -- so many that I decided to publish it again.

     It's all complete here; you don't have to have LOADSTAR 128 #8 to use
this program.  Numerous printer drivers and fonts are on the disk (including
some super fonts) and before you know it you'll be in the middle of a
masterpiece.

     Here are some of the new features:

 Input Device - the "Settings" menu lets you select mouse, joystick or
   keyboard
 Zoom Mode - change any pixel easily.
 Color Preferences - set your favorite menu/window colors.
 Brush Merge - instead of erasing the screen underneath, you can now blend
   your brush with what's already there.
 Tile Brush - completely tile the whole screen -- very fast!
 Crystal Draw - hard to explain but very catchy.
 Two-drive support - works with drives 8 and 9.
 Menu loading - now has a menu/scroll bar for loading files.  You don't
   need to enter filenames.
 Superfonts - big fonts a la Geos are now supported (and included).

     PAINT 128 II runs in the 80-column mode and autoconfigures itself to
your Commodore 128, whether you have a 16K or 64K of Video RAM.  The line at
top of screen is the main menu with your main options.  The menu bar at the
top of the screen responds in several ways.  You can either:

  press the first letter of the menu item (p for Paint, 3 for
    3D-Objects, etc.)  or
  move the cursor arrow to the menu item and press SPACE, FIREBUTTON or
    the left mouse button.

Use the cursor keys, joystick up/down or the left mouse button to move the
highlight bar and then press RETURN, FIRE or the right mouse button.  The
ESC button will get you out of any menu without selecting anything.  You can
change the joystick speed by pressing H for higher speed and L for lower
speed.

     Always choose a command before you mark graphics on screen.  The last
command will be kept until a new one is chosen.  The pointer arrow is moved
with the mouse, cursor keys or joystick.  You mark your graphics by moving
the pointer then pressing SPACE, FIRE or the left mouse button.  The screen
will flash red, and a little "+" will mark your spot.  You can unmark your
first location by pressing the ESC key or the right mouse button.

     If you don't want the "+" to be drawn on the screen when you're marking
a spot, press M to toggle the Marker on and off.  Likewise, if you don't
like the "beep" sound that signals when you've marked something, you can
turn the sound off from the Settings Submenu.

     The following text is written for the keyboard mode.  Just remember
that the left mouse button and the FIREBUTTON do the same job as SPACE if
you're in the mouse or joystick mode.

     A short example: Say you would like to make a rectangle.  The RECTANGLE
command is found under main menu command PAINT.  Press p (for PAINT), select
rectangle command with cursor keys, then press RETURN.  Now move the pointer
to the place you want one of the upper corners of the rectangle to be and
press SPACE.  Now move the pointer to the lower opposite corner and press
SPACE.  The rectangle will be drawn according to your marks.

     To make the following simpler, let's define some terms.  A "picture" is
the entire screen.  A "brush" is a smaller, definable part of the screen.  A
"cell" is an 8*8 pixel section of the screen.

     There are six menus listed at the top of the screen.  Each one has
several options.  We'll take them from left to right.

---  PAINT submenu  ---

* DOT: Places a dot on screen.

* RECTANGLE: Draws a rectangle on screen.  Mark opposite corners with the
cursor.  Note that once you set the first mark, you can draw the rectangle
to the left or to the right, up or down.

* BLOCK: Draws a filled block on the screen.  It's like the rectangle,
except filled.

* CIRCLE: Draws a circle.  You first mark the top of the circle, then move
the cursor to the left or right side of the circle.  If the circle were a
clock, you'd first mark 12 o'clock, then choose the circle's size by marking
3 o'clock or 9 o'clock.

* LINE: Draws a line on screen.  Mark the start then the end of line.

* LINE TO LINE: Draws a connected line on screen.  The end mark of your
first line is automatically the start mark of your second line, and so on.

* DRAW: Draws a line under your control.  Set the pointer then press SPACE
to activate DRAW.  Press SPACE to toggle draw on and off.

* FILL: Fills an enclosed area with a fill pattern.  Place the pointer
inside the area you want filled and hit SPACE.  IMPORTANT!  Make sure that
fill area is completely enclosed or the whole screen may be filled!

* WINDOW: Draws a colored, outlined window.  Mark the opposite corners with
the pointer.


---  3D-OBJECTS submenu  ---

* SPHERE: Plots a 3D solid sphere.  First mark center of sphere then mark
radius right or left from center.

* CYLINDER: Draws a solid cylinder.  Works just like the sphere command.

* SPOOL: Draws a solid spool structure.  It's like a cylinder whose ends are
larger than the middle.

* TOROID: Draws a solid toroid (doughnut) shape.

NOTE! Characteristics for 3D-Objects can be defined under main menu command
SETTINGS, explained later.


---  TOOLS submenu  ---

* ZOOM: The zoom function allows you to zoom into a small area for fine
editing.  Point to it and press SPACE to activate the zoom window.  Areas
outside the enlarged area can be brought into the zoom window by pressing
CRSR LEFT, RIGHT, UP or DOWN.  Editing can be done with CRSR keys or
joystick.  It works as a toggle -- pixels on are turned off and pixels off
are turned on when you press SPACE.  Exit zoom mode with RETURN or ESC.

* GET BRUSH: Copies a rectangular area of the screen to memory where it can
be copied to any part of the screen (PASTE BRUSH), or saved (SAVE BRUSH).
Position the pointer at one corner of the area and press SPACE.  Then
position the pointer at opposite corner of the rectangle and press SPACE
again.  If the start position was not correct press the ESC button and
retry.

* PASTE BRUSH: Used to paste a copied brush to screen.  Point to the place
you want the upper left corner of the saved brush and press SPACE.  You can
repeat this as many times as you like.

* TILE BRUSH: Tiles a brush to the whole screen.  NOTE! This will overwrite
everything drawn on screen.

* SAVE AS PATTERN: Saves a rectangular area of the screen to be used as a
fill pattern.  This means anything on the screen can be saved as a pattern
and used with the FILL command.  Works like Copy brush.  Pattern can also be
saved to disk with the SAVE PATTERN command.

* MIRROR X: Mirrors a rectangular area of screen in the horizontal
direction.  Works the same as COPY BRUSH.

* MIRROR Y: Same as mirror X but in the Y direction.

* MULTIDRAW: Multidraws works with the commaads RECTANGLE, CIRCLE, LINE and
LINE TO LINE.  Adjust the Thickness by pressing T then + or -.  This
determines how many times each command will be drawn.  By adjusting X and Y
you specify how many pixels (in the X or Y direction) every new graphic will
move from the previous one.  Press M to toggle MULTIDRAW command on and off.
IMPORTANT!  AFTER setting multidraw values, graphic command must be
selected.  Multidraw works fine in connection with CRYSTAL DRAW.  The
easiest way to understand what this command can do is to experiment.  You
can achieve some very interesting 3-D effects with it.  Remember to set
MULTIDRAW off when you're not using it.

* CRYSTAL DRAW: Crystal draw works with command DOT, RECTANGLE, BOX, CIRCLE,
LINE, LINE TO LINE and WINDOW.  Crystal draw will draw any of these graphic
shapes in any number around the center of screen.  Select CRYSTAL DRAW, set
it on with the C key, then choose numbers of crystals.  Exit with RETURN.
Choose the graphic command from PAINT menu.  Now draw this graphic to the
screen and watch how CRYSTAL DRAW draws it according to its size and place
and your CRYSTAL DRAW settings.  Remember to set CRYSTAL DRAW off when not
using it.

* AREA CLEAR: Just mark any rectangle and it will be cleared.

* SCREEN CLEAR: Clears the screen after asking you if you are sure you want
to.  This command can be used in the direct mode by pressing the CLR key
(SHIFT-HOME).  This command also updates screen colors using color mode 1.

* ABOUT..: Lists the credits.

* EXIT: Quits the program after asking you if you are sure.  Since BASIC 8
is still installed, PAINT 128 II doesn't return you to LOADSTAR.


---  WRITE submenu  ---

* WRITE: Activates write command.  Place the pointer where your text is to
start and press SPACE.  You will then be asked to write the text at top of
the screen.  Press RETURN when finished, and the text will be printed on the
screen.  The ESC key key will get you out of the text input without printing
anything.  The text will be printed in the last font or superfont chosen.

* FONT & TEXT SIZE: Lets you choose among several fonts and sizes.  Choose
them by pressing the letter within parentheses, then RETURN.  Text width 0
should be used with the 160 column font.

* TEXT DIRECTION: Lets you decide in which direction the text will be drawn.
HORIZONTAL CENTERED will center the text over the pointer.  This is handy
when titling text over graphics.

* TEXT MODE: Sets up in which way text is drawn on the screen.  You can have
normal text that blanks cell under a character.  Or you can overwrite the
cell using reversed textmode.  Text can be underlined or you can have text
that is drawn with last pattern.  This is very useful with large characters.

* SUPERFONTS: Superfonts are high resolution fonts specially written for
PAINT 128 II.  This means you can have large fonts without "jaggies", which
you usually get when a regular font is simply doubled in size.  Place the
cursor where text is to start, choose SUPERFONTS and select your SUPERFONT
from disk and press RETURN.  Write your text at top of screen and press
RETURN.  Program will now load selected SUPERFONT and display your text on
the screen.  Note that text commands TEXT DIRECTION and TEXT MODE don't work
with SUPERFONTS.  Also, superfonts act like brushes and can be used in the
Paste Brush Mode, described in the next section.

---  SETTINGS submenu  ---

* COLOR: Sets drawcolor and menu color.  Border and screen color are always
black when screen is not in monochrome mode.  This command works in direct
mode.  Just press F1 or F3 key to adjust drawcolors.  The F5 and F7 keys set
menu colors to your choice.  The left corner of the main menu shows the
activated drawcolors.  For more about color see below:

* DRAWMODE: Defines in which way the graphic is drawn to the screen.

     COLOR MODE 1: Uses foreground/background colors found in cell.  Updates
new colors with screen CLR.  This is the fastest mode.

     COLOR MODE 2: Uses the background color found in cell and foreground
color set by COLOR command.

     COLOR MODE 3: Uses foreground/background color set by the COLOR
command.

     UNDRAW: Turns on the erase mode.  Unplots all pixels.  Use this mode to
erase graphics on screen.

     REVERSE: Pixels ON are turned OFF, pixels OFF are turned ON.

     REVERSE COLOR: Reverses colors set by COLOR mode.

     PATTERN: Uses a previously defined pattern when drawing.




* DRAW SHAPE: Offers different kind of shapes to be used with the Draw
command.  You set drawspeed (how tight shapes will be set).

* FILL PATTERN: Choose one of 24 pre-defined patterns by pressing a letter
key between A and X.  Press * (asterisk) to get a reversed pattern.

* CIRCLE TYPE: Choose one type of polygon to use with draw command
CIRCLE.

* 3D-OBJECTS SET UP: Defines characteristics for 3D-Solids.  Press first
letter of the options to set Shade, Form, Light and View, then press RETURN.

* BRUSH PASTE MODE: Lets you paste a brush (or superfont character) on the
screen.  There are four modes you can choose from:

     ERASE UNDER: erases area then draws.

     MERGE WITH: doesn't erase area before drawing.

     COMMON: only pixels common to both screen and brush are kept.

     COMPLEMENT: pixels common to both screen and brush are NOT kept.

* PRINTER SET UP: Allows you to set the configuration for your printer.
Choose the printer routine for your printer, then set the secondary address,
height and density.  You can even have the picture rotated.  If your printer
is not mentioned on the Printer Menu, then you have to experiment to find
one that works satisfactory.  NOTE: Some printers will not allow rotated
pictures.  Generally, your best bet is to experiment if something doesn't
seem to be supported by your printer.  You should begin each session with
PAINT 128 II by setting it up for your printer.

* SCREEN SIZE: Adjust screen height.  If your C128 doesnt have the 64k
video chip RAM you have two screen formats, 640*200 monochrome or 640*176
with color (default screen).  The expanded C128 (all C128Ds) allows you to
choose among 640*200, 640*400 or 640*600 screen.  640*200 is the default
screen.  If you are using a screen height higher than 200 pixels you have to
scroll the screen up and down with the plus (+) and minus (-) keys.

* COORDINATES: Shows pointer coordinates in upper right corner.  This is
helpful in fine-tuning graphics.

* CONTROLLER: Allows you to choose mouse, joystick or keyboard input.  This
is the same menu the program begins with.

* SOUND ON/OFF: Toggles the beep when an action is taken.

---  IN/OUT submenu  ---

* PRINT SCREEN: Prints a hardcopy according to settings made with the
PRINTER SET UP command.

* DIRECTORY: Reads the directory from current disk and displays it on
screen.

* SAVE PICTURE: Saves the entire screen to disk after removing Main menu.
First it lists other pictures found on disk, then you enter the filename for
the picture.  Filenames of pictures will always start with PICT. for easy
recognition.

* LOAD PICTURE: Loads a saved picture to screen.  First it lists all
pictures found on disk.  Select file with CRSR keys then press RETURN to
load file.

* SAVE BRUSH: Saves a brush to disk for later recall.  The brush is first
saved to memory with the COPY BRUSH command.  Brush filenames always starts
with BRUS.

* LOAD BRUSH: Loads a saved brush to memory for recall to screen with  the
PASTE BRUSH command.  Select file to load with CRSR keys then press RETURN.

* SAVE PATTERN: Saves a pattern to disk.  This pattern should first be saved
to memory with the SAVE AS PATTERN command.  Pattern filenames always start
with PATR.

* LOAD PATTERN: Loads a pattern from disk to memory for use with the FILL
command.

* RENAME FILE: This command lets you rename a file on disk.

* DELETE FILE: Deletes unwanted files.  Be careful with PAINT 128 II files!

* DEVICE #: PAINT 128 II lets you work with 2 drives.  PAINT 128 II requires
the disk with its files and requestors to always be in device 8.  PAINT 128
II also assumes that the extra drive is set to DEVICE 9.  Changing the
device to 9 changes the input and output of user-created files like brushes,
pictures and patterns.  Additional SUPERFONTS may also be loaded from DEVICE
9, too.

     LOADSTAR and Peter Marions hope you enjoy having control of the
thousands of pixels on your 80-column graphics screen.

                             **** End of Text ****