Club Amiga de Montreal - CAM/CAM_CD_1.iso/files/471.lha/ImageLab_v2.4/ImageLab.Help

Text File | 1991-02-07 | 16.4 KB | 574 lines

. Credits
    \uImageLab V2.4\u

    (C) Copyright 1991
    by  Gary Milliorn

    This program is copyrighted, but
is freely redistributable excluding
commercial concerns.

    Send suggestions, bugs, complaints,
to:

    mail: 5915 Shanghai Pierce Rd.
          Austin, Texas 78749-1927
    bix:  gmill

Last revision: 3 February, 1991
. Overview
    \uImageLab V2.4\u

    \uImageLab\u is a program that
performs functions on image files.  It
is principally oriented towards greyscaled
images, though there are some color
functions provided.

    \uImageLab\u only works on IFF files.

    All operations can be limited to
areas by drag-selecting an area on the file
opened: just click at one corner and drag
to the opposite; only the selected area
will be affected.
.Convolution
    \iConvolution\i (the graphical or
spatial form) is a general purpose image
processing transform that can be used to
extract or enhance features of the image,
under control of a matrix called the
\ikernel\i.

    \uImageLab\u V2.x is limited to a
3 x 3 kernel, but there are many operations
which can be performed with this small
kernel, such as smoothing, edge detection,
etc.
.Area
    Operations may be applied to the
whole screen or to a sub-area.

    To select an area, click the mouse
on the picture and drag to outline the
desired area.
.Clipboard
    The clipboard functions can be used
to import or export graphical data, or to
hold data temporarily when moving between
screens you open.
.Project
    The \iProject\i menu contains general
information selections: About and
Information.

    Note: if the `checkmark' option is set
and the special font is available, then
\uImageLab\u will convert the Project menu into
an Amiga-style checkmark.
.File
    The \iFile\i menu contains all File I/O
operations, as well as the Quit option.
.Edit
    The \iEdit\i menu contains the clipboard
functions, plus general purpose editing
facilities (such as Paint, Flip, Erase, etc.)
.Transform Menu
    The \iTransform\i menu contains various
picture/area modification functions,
including the FFT menus, the Convolution
and Averaging menus, and the Filters menus.
.Picture Menu
    The \iPicture\i menu contains various
global picture operations, including color
table manipulations and screen parameter
editing (change size, etc.)
.Other Menu
    The \iOther\i menu contains miscellaneous
functions, including:

    Position          - screen positioning
    Save Mode         - compression type and
                      FFT inclusion.
    Restrict Palette- limit color range.
    Bell               - controls bell usage.
    Icons              - controls icon
                      creation.
.About
    \iAbout\i displays information about
\uImageLab\u, including the copyright
information, current memory availability
(\uImageLab\u can use quite a bit)
and provides access to \iHelp\i.

    Note: Help is also available using the
`Help' key.
.Picture Info
    \iPicture Info\i shows information about
the current open picture, including:

    Filename.
    File size.
    Display modes.
    Select size and area.
    FFT memory usage.
.Open
    \iOpen\i opens an \bIFF\b picture file.
If a screen is currently open already, it
will be closed first (if it has been
modified, a warning will be issued).

    If the \bALT\b key is held while \iOpen\i
is selected, when the IFF file is opened,
the most-significant bit plane will be
stripped away.  This is useful in
processing \iDigiView\i files, which
create extra bitplanes that can adversely
affect \uImageLab\u's operation.

    See also: \iRestrict Palette\i
and \iEdit Parameters\i.
.Revert
    \iRevert\i re-opens the previously opened
IFF picture file, undoing any changes that
have been made.

    This option is disabled if you have not
made any changes to your file.
.Close
    \iClose\i closes the current picture screen.
If the picture has been modified, you will be
warned.
.Save
    \iSave\i saves the current picture back to
the filename used when the picture was
loaded.

    The `Save' option is disabled when the
picture's screen modes have been altered
(by the \iEdit Parameters\i command).
.Save As
    \iSave As\i saves the current picture to
a filename specified using a file requester.
.Delete
    \iDelete\i brings up a file requester
allowing you to specify files to be deleted.
.Quit
    \iQuit\i leaves \uImageLab\u.  If the
current picture has been altered but not
saved, you will be warned first.
.Undo
    \iUndo\i undoes most operations, even if
it has to re-load the picture from disk.
.Cut
    \iCut\i copies the selected area to the
clipboard, then erases the area to the
background color (color #0).

    If the \bALT\b key is held down, the
area is cleared to the foreground color
(the maximum color register).
.Copy
    \iCopy\i copies the selected area to the
clipboard as an IFF picture.  Selected areas
can be exported to other programs by the
clipboard.
.Paste
    \iPaste\i pastes the IFF graphics area
to the current picture.  If the clipboard
contains an IFF compatible picture, the
picture screen will be brought up and a
select box will be active.

    Position the box to the desired location
and press the left mouse button.

    To abort a \ipaste\i in-progress, press
the \bESC\b key.
.Clear
    \iClear\i erases the selected area (or
the entire screen) by setting it to the
background color (color #0).

    If the \bALT\b key is held down, the
area is cleared to the foreground color
(the maximum color register).
.Unselect
    \iUnselect\i removes the selected area
from the picture.  Alternately, just click
once on the picture without moving the
mouse.
.Move
    \iMove\i allows you to reposition a
selected area.  To use, select an area, then
the \iMove\i option.  The screen is brought
up, with the selected area shown.

    To move that area, click the left mouse
button to drag the area to the new location,
and release the button when the area is
positioned properly.

    To abort a move in-progress, press the
\bESC\b key before releasing the right
mouse button, or press the left mouse
button.
.Resize
    The \iResize\i option allows to you to
change the size of a selected area.  The
first two options, \iCopy\i and
\iInterpolate\i control whether pixels
which must be created are simply copied
or are produced by a two-dimensional
averaging technique.

    To use those methods, you select
them and then select a new area.  \iResize\i
will expand and/or contract your image
as needed to fit the available area.

    The second two options, \iHalve\i
and \iDouble\i, do not require you to
specify the target area.

    \bNote:\b \iDouble\i always interpolates,
so it is somewhat slower.
.Flip
    The \iFlip\i option produces mirror images
of selected areas.  The suboptions allow you
to flip around an imaginary center vertical
axis (making horizontal flips) or around an
imaginary center horizontal axis (making
vertical flips).
.Invert
    The \iInvert\i option produces negatives
of selected areas (the Palette Negative
function pruduces negatives of the entire
image).
.Paint
    The \iPaint\i functions allow you to
modify areas on the screen.  When any
paint mode is selected, the pointer changes
to a cross hair, and the image data under
the center of the pointer changes in the
following ways:

    Draw   - draw using last palette color.
    Trace  - draw, but connect between dots.
    Xor    - exclusive-or (invert) pixels.
    Random - draw with random pixels.

    To select the color to paint with in
the Draw or Trace modes, use the Palette
function and select a color.

    The Function keys F6..F10 map to the
drag-select/paint modes as follows:

    F6    - no paint, drag select.
    F7    - draw.
    F8    - Trace.
    F9    - Xor.
    F10    - Random.
.Position
    The submenus of the \iPosition\i menu
allow control over the position of the open
picture screen, which has no drag bar.

    The \iHigh\i, \iMiddle\i, and \iLittle\i
selections put the screen at the top, halfway
down, or near the bottom.

    Since menu selections are made from the
WorkBench screen, the last two allow easy
access to the ImageLab window.

    The command key mnemonics were chosen
for convienent access using the right Amiga,
not for some bizarre meaning.
.Save Type
    The \iSave Type\i menu allows you to
select whether pictures will be compressed
or not, and whether FFT data (if any)
will be saved as well.

    The "Compress Picture" menu selection is
checked to reflect the compression mode of
the currently open picture, if any.
.Bell
    The \ibell\i menu, if checked, causes a
bell to be sounded when an operation is
complete.  This is handy with some of the
lengthy functions, such as FFT's.
.Icons
    The \iIcons\i menu, if checked, allows
controlling whether icons are generated with
saved picture files.  The default is OFF if
\uImageLab\u was started from the CLI,
or ON if it was started from WorkBench.
.FFT
    The \iFFT\i menu contains the main FFT
transform function, \iTransform\i, \iInverse\i
and \iDisplay\i.
.Color to B&W
    The \iColor to B&W\i menu converts the color
palette to a greyscale.  It does this using
the EIA weighting factors.  This is one step
in converting a color picture for \uImageLab\u
use.

    Note: if the palette is not in order
after using this command, use \iLinearize\i.
.Linearize
    The \iLinearize\i menu sorts the palette,
and rewrites all pixel values on the screen
so that no change in appearance occurs.

    \uImageLab\u requires a linearly increasing
palette for most operations to perform as
expected.
.Negative
    The \iNegative\i menu inverts the order of
the palette.  If you have a standard
greyscale, this will produce a negative
image.  If not, unpredictable results will
occur.
.Saturate
    The \iSaturate\i menu saturates all colors
in the palette.  If the \bALT\b key is held,
then the intensity levels are forced to their
maximum values also; this produces a palette
of primary colors.
.Pseudo Color
    The \iPseudo Color\i menu converts a grey-
scaled palette to a "thermographic" palette,
where blue represents coldest (darkest) and
red represents hottest (whitest).  Values in-
between are scaled accordingly.

    If the \bALT\b key is held while selecting
\iPseudo Color\i, the palette is given random
colors.  This serves no useful purpose,
except for hours of enjoyment.
.Delete Color
    The \iDelete Color\i menu brings up a window
containing selection gadgets, one per color.
Selecting the gadgets changes them to an 'X',
and when "OK" is selected, all marked colors
are deleted from the palette and their pixels
are deleted from the picture.

    Unchanged colors and pixels are moved
down, freeing up space in the palette/image.
.Map Color
    The \iMap Color\i menu brings up a window
containing selection gadgets, one per color.
Selecting the gadgets changes them to an 'X',
and when "OK" is selected, the two (and only
two) marked colors are exchanged in the
palette and their pixels are exchanged in the
picture.

    Warning: this is a slow operation.
.Sobel
    The \iSobel\i transform is a specialized,
highly effective edge detecting transform.
Areas processed by the \iSobel\i transform
will be replaced with bright pixels in area
of greatest change, and dark where there is
little change.
.Roberts
    The \iRoberts\i transform is a specialized,
effective edge detecting transform.  Areas
processed by the \iRoberts\i transform will
be replaced with bright pixels in area of
greatest change, and dark where there is
little change.
.Binary
    The \iBinary\i function converts the
selected area to white or black, depending
upon whether the pixel are greater than or
less than a supplied value.
.Threshold
    The \iThreshold\i function limits the
selected area.  Pixels outside a specified
pair of limits are forced to be within that
range.
.Pixelize
    The \iPixelize\i function converts a group
of <n> pixels into their average value.
This produces blocky images (i.e.,
"computerized" ones).
.Transform
    The \iTransform\i function begins an FFT
transform.  The selected area must be a
power of two in size (2, 32, 128, etc.);
if not, a modification requester is
brought up.

    When ready, the FFT operation begins.
A bar chart monitors its progress.  When
the FFT completes, the data is saved in
memory and is associated with the image.
Select the \iDisplay\i function to view the
results.
.Inverse
    The \iInverse\i function begins an inverse
FFT transform.  This converts the data back
to an image.  When done, the data can be
displayed via \iDisplay\i.  Theoretically,
if no changes have occured to the raw FFT
data, you should get your picture back.

    The \iPaint\i option also modifies any FFT
data.
.Display
    The \iDisplay\i function displays a screen
image using the FFT data.  The options
\iLog Display\i and \iNo Display\i control
whether a logarithmic enhancement is applied
to the data.
.Intensity
    The \iIntensity\i function alters the
apparent brightness of an area up or down in
steps.  The \iBrighten\i and \iDarken\i area
additive operations, while the \iScale\i
operations are multiplicative.

    Note that Brighten and Darken affect the
appearance of the background color (0),
while Scaling does not have this problem.
.Merge
    The \iMerge\i function merges two pictures.
The options are:

    Overlay - copy new picture to current,
              wherever the current pixel
              is black.
    Add        - add the pixel values
              together.
    Subtract- subtract the pixel values
              together.
    And        - logically AND the pixel
              values together.
    Or        - logically OR the pixel
              values together.
    XOR        - logically XOR the pixel
              values together.

    Other...- do a custom blitter
              operation.
.Average
    The \iAverage\i function smooths a selected
area by replacing each pixel by the weighted
average of its neighboring pixels.  Different
suboptions select which neighbors to use.

    If the \bALT\b key is held while selecting
\iAverage\i, you can edit the control matrix.
.Convolve
    The \iConvolve\i function alters a pixel
based upon factors weighted by selected
neighboring pixels.

    By varying the kernel used, smoothing,
enhancing, or edge detection can be
performed.

    If the \bALT\b key is held while selecting
\iConvolve\i, you can edit the control matrix.
.Histogram
    The \iHistogram\i function counts pixels in
a selected area, and shows a graph from that
data.

    The \iBar Graph\i menu option, if checked,
instructs ImageLab to create a Bar Graph;
otherwise, a line graph is displayed.
.Equalize
    The \iEqualize\i function adjusts the values
in the palette so normalize the greyscale to
a Gaussian distribution, producing a more
normal appearance.

    \bNote\b: a \iHistogram\i function \bmust\b have
been invoked first.
.HAM Conversion
    The \iHAM Conversion\i function is enabled
only when a HAM picture has been loaded.  It
converts the picture or selected area to a
16-color greyscaled image.

    \bNote\b: this function \bdoes\b work correctly
for selected areas which do not start at the
left edge.
.Halftone
    The \iHalftone\i function converts the
selected area or picture to a halftoned
image.  A halftone cell size of 2 or 3
can be selected, which increases the
size of the resulting image by 2 or 3,
respectively.
.Restrict Palette
    The \iRestrict Palette\i function
prevents \uImageLab\u from using the upper
half of a palette.  This is needed to
process DigiView pictures properly.
.Greyscale
    The \iGreyscale\i function converts the
palette to a linearly increasing greyscale.
.Median
    The \iMedian\i filter replaces each pixel
in an area with the median value of its
eight surrounding pixels.
.Minimum
    The \iMinimum\i filter replaces each pixel
in an area with the minimum value of its
eight surrounding pixels.
.Maximum
    The \iMaximum\i filter replaces each pixel
in an area with the maximum value of its
eight surrounding pixels.
.Distort
    The \iDistort\i function randomly distorts
a selected area.  A probability of 0% to 100%
can be set.
.Noise
    The \iNoise\i function randomly produces
impulse noise in an area.  A probability of
0% to 100% can be set.

    If the \bALT\b key is held while selecting
\iNoise\i, the noise generated is 0, instead
of the maximum color.
.Palette
    The \iPalette\i function places a color
palette on the screen.  You can select each
color, and alter its RGB components using
the provided sliders.  Select "OK" to make
the changes permanent, or "CANCEL" to restore
the old values.
.Edit Screen
    The \iEdit Screen\i function changes the
size and modes of the display screen,
producing a new screen.  A window allows
you to edit the screen width, depth, and
height.  You can select HAM, Interlace, HIRES,
and EHB (Extra-Half-Bright) modes as well.

    If the \bALT\b key is held while
selecting \iEdit Screen\i, it change the
screen width and height values to the
currently selected area.
.Edit Image
    The \iEdit Image\i function changes the
size of the image, which may be larger or
smaller than the display screen.
    A window allows you to edit the screen
width, height, or depth.

    If the \bALT\b key is held while
selecting \iEdit Image\i, it change the
image width and height values to the
currently selected area.