Compute! Gazette 1994 January

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AutoGraph v1.0 Page 1 AutoGraph v1.0 Welcome to AutoGraph, one of the most versatile graphics convert/display programs to come along! This program allows you to view and manage files created from many different types of art programs, and also allows you to convert between any of the formats supported. The program has been designed to be simple and easy to use, and hopefully, it is. When you start the program, you'll be asked to insert a disk containing graphics files. The F1/F2 keys let you change the device number that AutoGraph will search for files, and the F3/F4 keys will let you change the drive number. For 1541/71/81 disk drives, the drive number has no meaning, and MUST be left at 0. Dual drives such as the 4040 or 8050, or hard drives like the Lt. Kernal will be able use the drive number to select disks or partitions. 1581 users will use a different method to select partitions, and should simply insert the disk and press RETURN. AutoGraph will then read the directory and look for graphic files that are in a format it recognizes. Not all graphic formats are supported, but most of the major commercial art program formats are supported. If AutoGraph can't find any files that it recognizes on the disk, it will ask for another disk before allowing you to proceed. Once AutoGraph reads a directory containing graphic files, it will display the main screen. Most of the screen contains a window showing what files are on the disk. AutoGraph displays the name of each file, without the prefix or suffix associated with that file type, and places a two-letter code after each file, which shows its type. The types recognized by AutoGraph and the two-letter codes shown for each type are explained below: KO Koala Paint RB RUN Paint Bitmap DD Doodle! RM RUN Paint Med-Res GG Compressed Koala RH RUN Paint Hi-Res JJ Compressed Doodle BP Blazing Paddles OC OCP Art Studio SB SID/PIC Bitmap AD Advanced OCP Art SM SID/PIC Multicolor 64 Artist 64 SH SID/PIC Hi-Res You will see a "cursor" on one of the filenames, which you can move around with the CRSR keys. The cursor shows which file will be acted upon by a command that you give. The HOME and CLR (Shift HOME) keys move the cursor to the first or last file on the screen, respectively. Pressing HOME or CLR twice will take you to the beginning or the end of the directory. All of the commands that you will use can work on one file AutoGraph v1.0 Page 2 or several files at a time. To specify a single file, simply move the cursor to that file and give the command. To specify several files to be operated on in a batch, use file selection. The SPACE bar is used to select the file under the cursor. When a file is selected, it appears in reverse video on the screen. You can move the cursor around, selecting as many files as you like, and when you give a command, all files that are selected will be operated on by the command. Those of you familiar with Fast Hack'em and other copy programs will recognized this approach to file processing. A quick method of selecting files is to use the toggle command, "T", which reverses the selection status of all filenames. Pressing "T" with no files selected causes all files to be selected. Also, the unselect command, "U", quickly unselects all selected files, so that you can select a different batch to process. Once you know what files you want to use in a command, simply press the key that performs that command, and the command will start executing. Note that in almost every case, you can press the STOP key to cancel a command and return to the main screen, so if you make a mistake, just press STOP. Pressing STOP at the main screen will exit the program and put you back at the Basic READY prompt. Command Summary Pressing the RETURN key starts the View command, which displays files on the screen. You can view one file or select many files and view them one after the other. While you are viewing a file, you have several options that you can perform, that are not shown on the screen. Pressing the F1 and F3 keys changes the border color of the picture. If you press "I" while viewing a picture, the bitmap will be inverted. This function has been found to be helpful when viewing files created by scanners or digitizers. Any other key (except "S") stops viewing the file. If there are more files to be viewed, the next one will be loaded and displayed. You can press STOP to cancel a multi-file View. Pressing "S" while viewing a picture starts a Save operation. The picture on the screen can be saved to disk, either in the same format or in any other format of the same display type (multicolor or hi-res). A menu will appear showing which types you can convert to. If you select one and press RETURN, the file will be saved in the format you selected. Details on source and destination drives will be explained later. AutoGraph v1.0 Page 3 If you press the "S" key from the main command screen, you will start a Slideshow, which is a way of displaying pictures, one after the other, with a timed delay in between. Unlike the View command, which always returns to the main screen when loading the next file, the Slideshow command loads the next picture in the sequence while it is still displaying the previous picture. Only when the picture finishes loading, and then only after the inter-picture delay time runs out, then the next picture is displayed. When you start a slideshow, you are asked first for a time delay between pictures. You can enter any value from 1 to 255 seconds, although it usually takes longer than 1 second to load a picture. This time delay is measured from the start of displaying one picture to the start of the next picture, including load time. For instance, if you select a 30 second delay, and the loading of the next picture takes 10 seconds, the program will wait 20 more seconds before displaying the picture that was loaded. You are also asked if you wish to perform a continuous slideshow. This means that after displaying the last picture in a sequence, the first will be re-displayed, and so on. You must use STOP to exit a continuous slideshow. Note that only the files you select will be included in a slideshow. If you select no files, then this command works exactly like View. There may be some cases in which you wish to pause a slideshow for a moment, then let it resume. If you press down the SHIFT LOCK key during a slideshow, the next picture will not be displayed until you release the SHIFT LOCK key. The "DEL" key allows you to delete one or more graphic files from the disk. You are always asked for confirmation before any files are deleted. If you are deleting multiple files, the STOP key can be used to abort the operation. The "R" key allows you to rename graphic files, with full editing. The old filename and new filename are displayed, and you can edit the new filename to your heart's content, using the CRSR left/right, HOME, CLR, and INST/DEL keys. When you have edited the name, press RETURN to rename the file, or STOP if you do not wish to rename it. Multiple files can be selected and renamed. Note that if the filename you specify is illegal, the rename will not be performed. AutoGraph v1.0 Page 4 Pressing "C" from the main command screen allows you to convert files from one type to another, without having to use the View/Save option described earlier. Note, however, that if you have only one drive, you can only use this command if you save to the same disk as you are loading files from. Make sure there is plenty of space on the disk. A menu will appear showing you which types you can convert the hi-res and multicolor files that you have selected on the disk. Note that on both menus, an option called "No Conversion" appears. If you select this type, no file conversions will be done, resulting in a Copy operation to the destination disk. While the conversion is taking place, the files being converted are displayed on the screen while saving, for entertainment value. Pressing "D" at the main command screen causes the program to ask for a new disk of graphic files. When you press RETURN, the new disk will be read, and the directory displayed on the screen. You should use this command whenever you change source disks. Either at the command screen, or after pressing "D", you can use the function keys to change the Source and Destination device numbers displayed on the right side of the screen. You can select any device/drive combination, even an illegal one, so be careful that the device AND drive that you select are legal. If you select an illegal source or destination device or drive, the program will probably appear to be ignoring your commands when you reference the illegal drive. The Source drive is the drive from which graphic files will be loaded, and from which the directory will be read when you changed disks. The Destination drive is the drive to which any files created will be saved, either from the Save option in the View command, or when using the Convert/Copy command. Also, the number of blocks free (displayed near the lower right corner) is displayed for the Destination drive, not the Source drive. That covers all the commands, and through creative use of this program, you can do some amazing things. For example, using RAMDOS, you can create an impressive REU slideshow by copying files to the RAM disk, then performing a slideshow from that device. The view, scratch, rename, and copy operations make this program very helpful in managing a large number of graphic files across multiple disks. The conversion commands are extremely helpful when you wish to use the features of several different art programs to complete a picture. Also, many other utilities require files to be in a specific format AutoGraph v1.0 Page 5 (usually Koala or Doodle) before they can use the files, and this program can convert most pictures to these types. Lastly, this program is well-suited to converting files to and from the compressed JJ and GG formats found so often on BBS's and online services. Note to 1581 Users AutoGraph attempts to support 1581 partitions, in a limited fashion. When you insert a new disk and read the root directory, partition files appear on the main screen just like normal graphic files, but the filetype is shown as an arrow, indicating that the file is a subdirectory. If you move the cursor to the directory and press RETURN, the subdirectory will be opened and read. If it contains graphic files, you will see them. If not, a message will be displayed, and you will be returned to the root directory. At any time, you can also return to the root directory by pressing the "/" key. You are not allowed to select (via SPACE bar or "T" command) a partition file, and no file operations are allowed on such files, except for Rename, which allows you to change the name of a partition file. Note that all picture loads and saves will be performed in the current open partition. There is currently no way to copy files from one partition to another on the same disk. Don't Read This! This program is distributed as FreeWare, meaning if you like the program, that's great, and if you don't like it, tell me why, and maybe I can help you with it or fix something that's wrong with it. If you wish to contact me by E-Mail, I can be reached as "Fuzzy Fox" on Quantum-Link. Or, you can contact my by P-Mail (Paper Mail!) at the following address: Fuzzy Fox 940 Ramblewood Dr. Lewisville, TX 75067 Also, if you have any drawings or pictures of furry critters that you don't want any more, send them to me! I love cute critter drawings! Also, please don't send any checks or money orders made out to "Fuzzy Fox," as my bank will not accept that name, for some reason. Please enjoy the use of this program, and look for upgrades in the future, as I intend to support this program. Special AutoGraph v1.0 Page 6 thanks go to all the people who helped me put this program together and make it work (even without a 1581 to test with!). Thanks, and have fun!