home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
-
- Box: This item generates a "flat" map of any portion of the
- Earth's surface that lies inside a user-selectable
- rectangular region on a flat or Mercator map. If a flat map
- is not currently being displayed, then a flat map is first
- displayed. The user selects the rectangular region by first
- pressing the left mouse button to select one vertex of the
- rectangle, dragging the mouse to define the box, then
- releasing the left mouse button when the desired area has
- been selected. The user may also cancel this entire
- selection by pressing the right mouse button before
- initially pressing the left mouse button.
-
- Box Zoom In: This item may only be used after the user has
- previously selected either the Box, Box Zoom In or Box Zoom
- Out items. This item allows the user to select a
- rectangular box within the currently-displayed box for
- closer inspection, thereby further expanding the view of
- that smaller box. The smaller box is selected as described
- in the Help entry for the Box item. The user may cancel
- this selection by pressing the right mouse button before
- initially pressing the left mouse button.
-
- Box Zoom Out: This item may only be used after the user has
- previously selected either the Box, Box Zoom In, or Box Zoom
- Out items. Selecting this item causes the limits (both
- latitude and longitude) of the currently-displayed box to be
- increased by a factor of 2, and all regions within that
- larger box are then displayed.
-
- Clear Screen: This item causes the entire screen to be
- cleared to the default background color (blue).
-
- Draw Line: This item allows the user to draw a connected
- line by first pressing and holding down the left mouse
- button, and then moving the mouse while continuing to hold
- down the left mouse button. Releasing the left mouse button
- terminates the line drawing function. The user may cancel
- this selection by first pressing the right mouse button
- before pressing the left mouse button.
-
- Flat: This item generates a simple, "flat" map of the
- entire Earth's surface. Unlike the Mercator map, there are
- no special properties of this sort of plot.
-
- Flood Color: This item allows the user to select the color
- to be used in color-filling regions. The color is selected
- by releasing the right mouse button over the desired color.
- The currently-selected color is indicated by a check mark.
-
- Flood Fill: This item causes a contiguous area to be color
- filled. Pressing the left mouse button results in the area
- underneath the mouse being color-filled with the color
- selected for color-filling (see the Help entry for the Flood
- Color item). The color of all contiguous points of the same
- color as the point under the mouse is changed to the flood-
- fill color. The user may cancel this item by pressing the
- right mouse button.
-
- Globe: This item generates a plot of an entire hemisphere
- of the Earth's surface, i.e., that part of the globe that
- would be visible if seen from infinitely far away, but with
- a very powerful telescope. If the user selects this item
- when either a "flat" or Mercator map is already displayed,
- then the user may immediately select the point on the
- Earth's surface which is to be in the center of the globe
- view. If a flat or Mercator map is not currently displayed,
- then a flat map is "blittered" onto the screen and the user
- may select the center point. The user may either select the
- center point by pressing the left mouse button, or cancel
- the selection by pressing the right mouse button.
-
- Grid: This item generates grid lines on the type of map
- currently being displayed. The only valid maps on which to
- plot the grid lines are the "flat", Mercator, globe, and
- orbital maps.
-
- Help: Selecting this item results in a window appearing,
- with a gadget labelled for each menu item. Pressing the
- left mouse button on a particular gadget results in a
- display of the Help entry for that particular menu item.
- Pressing the left mouse button on the OK gadget terminates
- the display of the Help entry for that menu item. Pressing
- the left mouse button on the Exit Help gadget terminates the
- Help function.
-
- Line Color: This item allows the user to select the color
- to be used for drawing lines. The color is selected by
- releasing the right mouse button over the desired color.
- The currently-selected color is indicated by a check mark.
-
- Mercator: This item generates a standard Mercator
- projection of the entire Earth's surface.
-
- Orbital: This item generates a plot of the Earth's surface
- as seen from a user-selectable altitude. As in the Globe
- item, the user may either select the center point of the
- view (by pressing the left mouse button over the desired
- spot on the Earth's surface) or cancel the item by pressing
- the right mouse button. If the user presses the left mouse
- button, then a requester is presented which prompts the user
- to enter an altitude from which to view. Note that the
- entire visible portion of the Earth's surface is plotted, no
- attempt being made to clip the visible portion to a user's
- hypothetical window as seen from an orbiting spacecraft.
- This results in a sort of "fish-eye" effect, but it does
- show the entire portion of the globe visible from that
- altitude.
-
- Palette: This item gives the user full control over the
- entire palette. A window is opened showing the current
- palette, slider bars and RGB values which can be directly
- modified. Any or all colors may be modified, the resulting
- color changes being immediately reflected on the screen.
-
- Print Map: This item causes the currently-displayed map to
- be printed on the printer specified in the user's standard
- Amiga Preferences file.
-
- Quit: This item causes the program to clean up after itself
- and terminate.
-
- Reset Colors: This item causes the default palette (and NOT
- the user's personal palette in the "drawmap.config" file) to
- be loaded. The colors on the displayed screen are
- immediately modified.
-
- Save Config: This item causes the user's palette to be
- saved into a file named "drawmap.config". When the program
- is next executed, it looks for this file and, if found,
- loads the palette contained therein.
-
- Save Map: This item allows the user to save to disk the
- currently-displayed map. A file requester is first
- displayed as a prompt to the user to select a file name,
- after which the map is saved as a standard IFF file. It may
- then be displayed by any well-behaved IFF display program or
- loaded into any normal paint program.
-
- Shadow: This item causes drop-shadows to be generated on
- the currently-displayed map. The only colors for which
- shadows are not generated are "black" and the background
- "blue".
-
- Text: This item allows the user to enter text and place it
- anywhere on the screen. A text requester is displayed, into
- which any desired text may be entered. Pressing the
- "return" or "enter" key terminates the requester, and a box
- (of size equal to the size of the specified text) is
- displayed at the mouse position. The user then positions
- the text by moving the mouse. Pressing the left mouse
- button stamps down the specified text onto the currently-
- displayed map. Pressing the right mouse button cancels the
- selection (i.e., no text will be stamped down).
-
- Text Color: This item allows the user to select the color
- to be used for user-specified text. The color is selected
- by releasing the right mouse button over the desired color.
- The currently-selected color is indicated by a check mark.
-
- Toggle Title: This item causes the screen title bar to be
- alternately turned on or off.
-
- Zoom In: This item generates an Orbital view as seen from
- one-half the previous orbital altitude. If no previous
- Orbital view had been generated, then the altitude is one-
- half the initial, default altitude of 300 kilometers. Also
- in that case, a "flat" map is first presented from which to
- select the point on the Earth's surface to be directly
- underneath the viewpoint. The user may cancel this item by
- pressing the right mouse button.
-
- Zoom Out: This item generates an Orbital view as seen from
- twice the previous orbital altitude. If no previous Orbital
- view had been generated, then the altitude is twice the
- initial, default altitude of 300 kilometers. Also in that
- case, a "flat" map is first presented from which to select
- the point on the Earth's surface to be directly underneath
- the viewpoint. The user may cancel this item by pressing
- the right mouse button.
-
- Exit Help: This selection terminates the Help function.
-