******************************************
* -=- ACDSee v1.1 -=- *
* A small, quick Windows image viewer *
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* Rapid decompression *
* View the image as it is decompressed *
* Easy, lightning-fast image panning *
* Supports 256, 32k, 64k and 16M colours *
* Supports all JFIF image files (.JPG) *
* --New!-- Turbo JPEG preview mode *
* --New!-- GIF support *
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ACDSee v1.1
~~~~~~~~~~~

Congratulations on obtaining the third release of ACDSee, the fastest,
easiest-to-use Windows JPEG/GIF viewer currently available!

Current features include:

* rapid decompression
* view the image as it is being decompressed
* turbo-preview mode
* easy, lightning-fast image panning, even during decompression
* supports 256, 32768, 65536 and 16 million colour modes
* supports virtually all JFIF compliant image files (.JPG)
* supports non-interlaced GIF images

We've designed ACDSee to be the best image viewer for Windows possible.
Instead of sticking in features you'd probably use only once a year, we've
concentrated on making ACDSee small, simple and fast.


Installing ACDSee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1) Copy the ACDSEE.EXE file anywhere you like

2) Create an icon for it in Program Manager

3) If you have a copy of CTL3D.DLL in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory that is
the same or newer than the copy in the ACDSee distribution, then you
should just delete the one in the ACDSee distribution file. Otherwise,
you should move the ACDSee CTL3D.DLL [over top of] your older CTL3D.DLL
file in WINDOWS\SYSTEM.

4) You will probably want to set up File Manager so that it associates files
with the extensions JPG and GIF with ACDSEE.EXE This will allow you to
view pictures from File Manager by simply double-clicking on them.

You can do this by first highlighting any JPEG (GIF) file in File Manager,
and then choosing File|Associate... from the menu. Click on Browse...
and locate the ACDSEE.EXE program and then hit OK.


Running ACDSee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can start ACDSee from the Program Manager by double-clicking on its icon.
You will immediately be presented with a File Open dialog where you can
specify an image to read.

If you have made an association between image files and ACDSee, you can also
start ACDSee from the File Manager by just double clicking on an image file.
You'll probably find this method preferable for browsing around your images.

If the image is larger than the size of the ACDSee window, you can pan
(scroll) the image either by using the scroll bars or by "grabbing" part
of the image with the mouse cursor and dragging it around. The latter
method is quite fun, especially on an accelerated video card. The scrolling
feature can be used while the image is being decompressed for those of
you that don't like to wait.


Options
~~~~~~~

Use Scroll Bars
If you prefer the "grab" method of scrolling, you will probably want
to remove the ugly scroll bars. You can do this by unchecking
Options|Use Scroll Bars from the ACDSee menu.

Chunk Decompression
By default, the image is decompressed and displayed 16 lines at a time.
You can change this to a single line at a time by unchecking
Options|Chunk Decompression. This may cause the decompression to appear
"smoother", but will slightly slow down the rate of decompression. On
the other hand, it causes ACDSee to relinquish control to other
applications more often, which makes it "nicer" from a multitasking
standpoint. You should try this option if you experience CRC errors
when transferring files with the modem in the background while viewing
images.

JPEG Preview
If you are just poking around your library of images, looking for
something nice to look at, you will want to try the JPEG Preview mode.
Once this option is on, ACDSee will open images as 16-grayscale thumbnail
images. This is MUCH faster than normal viewing mode, which of course
is already quite fast! Once you find an image you like, just uncheck the
option and it will be decompressed as a full-size, full-colour JPEG.
This option can also be toggled on and off with CTRL+P.

Options are "remembered" from invocation to invocation, which is nice.


Registration
~~~~~~~~~~~~

ACDSee is "ShareWare". This entitles you, the customer, to try out
the software for up to 30 days without obligation to pay for it.

If you use ACDSee beyond the 30 days, you should register it. Registration
entitles you to free upgrades to the software, which is nice. You can
easily register by calling a toll free number, or, if you are a member of
CompuServe, through the registration database (Reg. ID 4057). The cost of
registration is US$15.00

As a reminder, ACDSee will occasionally bring up its About box when you
open a file or quit the application. This is supposed to be very annoying,
and will of course cease and desist the moment that you register.

To register, just select Help|Register... or click on the Register button
on the About dialog box. Then just follow the instructions.


Sample Images
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HAPUNA1.JPG - These are two photographs of Hapuna Beach, taken by the
HAPUNA2.GIF - author while on a co-op work term in Hawaii.


Comments, Bug Reports
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please send any comments, suggestions for enhancements or bug reports via
E-Mail to [email protected] or [email protected]


Known Bugs
~~~~~~~~~~

None.


Possible Future Enhancements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

o support for BMP, interlaced-GIF, and TGA file formats

o GIF preview

o image viewer shell, including thumbnail image preview

o slideshow

o support for 4DOS descriptions

o speed increases

Credits
~~~~~~~

The JPEG decoding routines of ACDSee were built from code written by and
licensed from Oliver Fromme, author of the world-famous Q-Peg viewer for
DOS.

To obtain information about either Q-Peg or the decoding routines, download
the latest version of Q-Peg, available on public FTP sites and computer
bulletin boards everywhere.