Category : Printer + Display Graphics
Archive   : CSHOW873.ZIP
Filename : CSHOW.DOC

=================
C o m p u S h o w
=================


Standard Version 8.7a

for the
IBM PC, XT, AT, PCjr, PS/2 (and compatibles)
with

Hercules Monochrome Graphics Adapter
or
Color Graphics Adapter (CGA)
or
Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA)
or
Multi-Color Graphics Array (MCGA)
or
Video Graphics Array (VGA)

CompuShow documentation is arranged (in README.EXE) in these documents:

WHATSNEW.DOC A summary of the changes in this version. "Last minute" changes
(since CSHOW.DOC).
SETUP.DOC Command-line options.
CSHOW.DOC This complete, detailed CompuShow User's Guide.
VIDEO.DOC Detailed info about video modes and drivers.
PRINTER.DOC Detailed info about printers supported in the enhanced program.
Q&A.DOC Frequently asked questions, complete with answers!
CATALOG.DOC The CaSSS software catalog.
ORDRFORM.DOC Software order form.

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| See SETUP.DOC for instructions on configuring CompuShow for your computer |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Using CompuShow: A Quick Start Overview
=======================================

CompuShow is a program for viewing graphics on an IBM compatible computer.
This section is designed to give you a brief overview and get you started
quickly.

A number of 'reminder prompts' appear at the bottom of the screen. For
example, 'F1help' means press the [F1] function key for help. If you have a
mouse, you can also left-click on any of these prompts. When we say 'F1help'
or 'F2log', it means press the function key or left-click on the prompt.

1. Start the program from your DOS prompt by typing 'CSHOW' and a carriage
return. The screen shows a sorted list of the disk files in the current
directory. If you loaded CompuShow from a floppy disk, you can remove the disk
to mount other floppies and use Alt-A or Alt-B to "log in" the new disk.

2. The cursor is positioned in an "input area" near the bottom of the screen.
Use the "up arrow" cursor key (or your mouse) to move up into the file
directory.

[CSHOW.DOC] Page 1
3. Move the highlight bar around the list of files using the mouse or cursor
arrow keys, PgDn, PgUp, Home, End, etc. (Click the mouse above the top line of
file names to page up or at the bottom of the screen to page down.)

4. With the highlight bar positioned at a graphic file, press the spacebar (or
click the left mouse button) to view the picture. If you don't know which
files are graphics, just try each one in turn. CompuShow will tell you if a
file isn't a graphic.

5. Press ESCape (or click a mouse button) to return to the file directory and
you're back at step 3 ready to select another file, or...

6. Press ESCape (or click the mouse in the input area) to return the cursor to
the input area (you're back at step 2).

7. Press ESCape (or right-click) in the input area to exit CompuShow and
return to DOS.

Of course, you may have graphics files on a different disk drive and/or in a
different directory (and it's quite possible that there are no graphics files
listed on the current directory screen). There are several ways to select a
different directory:

a. With the highlight bar at a directory (marked ), press carriage return
(or click the mouse) to move into the directory.

b. F2log to pop up the "log box" to switch to a different drive or one of the
special sub-directories listed.

c. Use Alt-A and Alt-B (hold down the 'Alt' key and type 'a' or 'b') to "log
in" a new disk in floppy drive A: or B:

Tagging Files
-------------

Press F7 or click the space to the left of the file name to tag the file at
the highlight bar. A "tag-pointer" appears and the highlight is moved down one
file. Press F7 or click a tagged file to un-tag it.

F9all to tag all files (on all screens of the current directory.)

F8show to show all tagged files. As each image is displayed in turn, you may
pan, adjust the appearance, etc., just as though you'd displayed it
individually.

Alt-K to display the number of files in the current directory, bytes, total
size in K-bytes and open space in K-bytes on the current disk drive. If files
are tagged, the number, bytes and K-bytes for tagged files appear on a second
line.

Alt-D to Delete file(s).

Alt-R to Rename file(s).

Alt-C to Copy file(s).

Alt-M to Move file(s). Move only deletes if the copy was successful.

[CSHOW.DOC] Page 2
If no files are tagged, Alt-D, Alt-R, Alt-C, and Alt-M work on the current
file; the one at the highlight bar, and clicking on the prompt has no effect.

F10clr to clear all tags.

Command-line file specification
-------------------------------

To start CompuShow logged to a different drive and/or directory:

>cshow d: log to drive d:
>cshow e:\pics log to drive e:, sub-directory \pics

You can also specify a file mask:

>cshow *.gif set the mask to *.GIF
>cshow c:\graph\pix\*.pcx log to c:\graph\pix, set the mask to
*.pcx

CompuShow can display one or more files as specified on the command line:

>cshow c:\pics\favorite.gif+ display one graphic
>cshow d:\pics\*.gif+ display multiple graphics

As each image is displayed in turn you may adjust the appearance, pan, etc.

>cshow e:\graph\sample.pcx+x display and exit to DOS

Add a '+X' to the end of the file name to display it and exit to DOS with the
graphic still on screen.

CompuShow as a Windows Viewer
=============================

To set up CompuShow to view graphics from the Windows file manager.

1. In the file manager, select File-Associate.

2. For "Files with Extension" enter "GIF" (for example).

3. Select "Browse" and then the drive and directory where you installed
CompuShow.

4. Select CSHWIN.BAT (and then Okay, two times).

Selecting a GIF file in the File Manager (with a double-click or the enter
key) will immediately display it with CompuShow. You can similarly associate
different graphics file extensions (JPG, PCX, BMP, etc) to be displayed.

Changing options
================

F3wide Switches between a two-column display of file name, size, date and time
to a multi-column display of as many files as possible.

F4mask Specify a file mask such as "*.GIF" or "*.*"


[CSHOW.DOC] Page 3
F5sort Display only files or also show sub-directories. Sort ascending or
descending on file name, extension, size, date, or unsorted.

F6optn Turn on or off:

Quiet mode; whether or not the program makes sounds.

Comments. Turn OFF to ignore any comments in GIF, Tiff, JFIF, etc.

display of Tiff thumbnails, the small images included in some Tiff
files.

Dithering is a technique for displaying an image with a large number
of colors on a device with fewer colors. (If the display mode has as
many or more colors than the image, the Dither setting has no
affect.) Dither ON provides the best quality display, dither OFF is
slightly faster.

The Gamma1 setting affects display of true-color graphics in 256
(dithered) or more colors. Some scanning and desktop publishing
software work exclusively with "Gamma 1.0" images. Turn this option
on so that the image is corrected for display on a PC monitor.

Select one of the rescale settings:

Original size, no rescaling. An image may be smaller or larger than
the screen. If it's larger and you have enough 'VScreen' memory (see
SETUP.DOC), you can pan around the image with the cursor keys or
mouse.

Rescale most images to fit the screen. The exception is monochrome (2
color) images. Frequently, these use intentionally randomized black
and white dots and rescaling creates undesirable patterns.

Full-time rescales ALL images to fit the screen.

The Graphics Information Box
============================

If you type the name of a graphic file in the input area or position the
highlight bar on a graphic file and press carriage return (or right-click),
the Graphics Information Box pops up.

CompuShow displays 'raster graphics' or 'bit-maps'. These graphics images are
made up of rows of dots. The top line of the box identifies the type of
graphic file, the width, height, and number of colors in the image.

In addition to all of the standard graphics modes available on your adapter,
you may see up to fifteen modes provided by a video driver that you've
selected (see SETUP.DOC and VIDEO.DOC).

You may display in any of the modes listed on the screen by pressing the key
(or clicking) the mode you want. The "best available mode" (the mode used if
you press the spacebar or left-click from the directory screen) is the
character displayed at the cursor.



[CSHOW.DOC] Page 4
The F6optn prompt in the lower-right corner allows you to control the display
options without leaving the graphics information box.

Press carriage return, ESCape (or right-click) to return to the directory
screen.

During graphic display
----------------------

As the image is being displayed, press ESCape (or right-click) to interrupt.
The partial image will remain on the screen; press ESCape (or click) to exit
the graphic.

Images larger than the screen may be "panned", using the mouse or arrow keys,
provided that you have enough "virtual screen" (computer memory) available as
shown on the Shift-F1 information box. (Keep in mind that the image WON'T BE
LARGER THAN THE SCREEN, IF RESCALING IS TURNED ON in F6optn).

Tab displays the file name, graphic size, and display resolution.

If the graphic is displayed in a 256-color Super-VGA (video driver) mode,
press "Z" to "Zoom" the image to 320x200 (which you may pan around), and
"Z" again to return to the original mode.

Alt-N negates any monochrome display.

Adjust the colors of an image displayed in an MCGA, VGA, or "Super-VGA"
16 or 256 color mode. Alt-G displays a color image as grayscale. Alt-N
negates a grayscale display. Alt-C returns to Color.

PgUp/PgDn brightens/darkens the image, and:

RED: decrease [F1] [F2] increase
GREEN: decrease [F3] [F4] increase
BLUE: decrease [F5] [F6] increase

Press Alt-F10 (hold down the Alt key and press [F10]) to save the adjusted
color palette to disk. When you display the file again, the program
automatically uses this saved palette (press [F9] to see the original color
palette; [F10] to switch back to the saved color palette.)

On an EGA, you can do a similar color adjustment for images displayed in modes
7, 9, or Z:

The sixteen EGA colors are numbered 0 to 9 and A to F (color zero is
always the background). To select a color to adjust, type the color number
(0..9 or A..F). That color will flash, so that you can see where it is and
decide whether it should be adjusted. In addition to using F1..F6 to adjust
red, green, and blue, you can "step through" all sixty-four EGA colors in
color number sequence:

COLOR NUMBER: decrease [F7] [F8] increase






[CSHOW.DOC] Page 5
CompuServe GIF Graphics
-----------------------

With the release of GIF version 89a (July '90) several exciting new features
are supported:

Text may be included for display with the graphic.

A "user input" request causes CompuShow to wait for you to press a key before
continuing, to allow you time to read text, etc. To indicate that it's waiting
for you, the program "ticks". Press ESCape or right-click to interrupt further
processing; any other key or left-click to proceed.

Delays between images may be used for animation or to allow time for you to
read text.

Transparency may be used to create non-rectangular images (or text characters)
to appear "on top of" the underlying image.

Images may appear which are "disposed of" by restoring to either the
background color or the previous (underlying) image.

Comments may be included by the person creating the GIF. After you've viewed a
GIF with comments, you're asked whether you want to read them. Press "Y" or
left-click to read the comments; press 'N', ESCape, carriage return or right-
click to skip comments.

As a rule of thumb, transparency and restore to previous functions in a
640x480x256 GIF will require either EMS/XMS memory or a 640k system, with no
RAM resident programs loaded (TSRs, RAM disks, etc.), so that at least 530k of
memory is available. If there isn't enough memory available, the transparent
color will be displayed, and restore to previous will be handled as a restore
to background.

See CATALOG.DOC for information about "CompuMake Tools" for converting your
existing graphics images to GIF, including support for all features of the
GIF89a format.





















[CSHOW.DOC] Page 6
CompuShow Standard Version 8.7a

S H A R E W A R E
=================

CompuShow is copyrighted software. However, you are encouraged to copy and
share the standard version with others according to the following
requirements:

The standard version of CompuShow may be freely copied and shared with
others, so long as no charge is made for the software, and it is
distributed as the self-installing program CSHOWA.EXE (which may be
enclosed in a "ZIP" file, if necessary).

Notice that ShareWare is copyrighted software. It's not "Public Domain"
software, nor is it "free" software. If you continue to use this program
beyond a reasonable "trial period", not to exceed 21 days, you must pay for it
by registering.

- Your registration fee makes it possible for us to continue to improve the
program and to provide similar high quality software at reasonable prices.

- IF YOU USE THE PROGRAM FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES, YOU MUST REGISTER.

- For your $25 registration fee you receive the LATEST COMPLETE VERSION of
the ENHANCED PROGRAM.

- As a registered user, you'll be notified as new versions are released, and
may upgrade for a nominal charge.

Registering for the Enhanced Program
------------------------------------

The enhanced program (CompuShow version 8.7b) includes all features of the
standard program, plus:

- Printing of all graphics images on most dot matrix and laser printers.

See PRINTER.DOC for a complete list of supported printers.

- F8show tagged files allows you to specify an optional delay in seconds
between images for a continuous "slide show".

- Similarly, you may specify a delay for a one-pass or continuous "slide
show" of the files specified on the command-line.

- The scripted slide show feature follows a prepared script to provide
automated display of graphics:

- from any drive and sub-directory,
- using the best (space bar) mode or a specified mode,
- with control of (up, down, left, right) panning,
- specifying an optional delay in seconds between images,
- providing a "wait for a key press",
- to run continuously or quit after one pass.



[CSHOW.DOC] Page 7
- The CompuShow Setup program lets you change screen colors, and specify
"start-up" options, making the command-line switches unnecessary. You can
also automatically log to a disk drive and/or sub-directory, and set the
type of directory display you want.

For your convenience, we've included an order form (ORDRFORM.DOC) with space
for all the required information. (Complete it by hand or with a word
processor.) Orders are shipped first class mail, and registration puts you on
our mailing list for notification when future versions are available.

Uploading to a Bulletin Board:
-----------------------------

We encourage you to copy and share the Standard/ShareWare version of CompuShow
with others. CSHOW873.ZIP should contain FILE_ID.DIZ and the self-installing
program CSHOWA.EXE.

BBS SysOps and ShareWare Distributors:
-------------------------------------

We appreciate the distribution of CompuShow on electronic bulletin boards and
ShareWare disks. If you're a BBS SysOp or ShareWare distributor, contact me to
be placed on our mailing list. You'll automatically receive the complete
standard CompuShow program every time a new version is released.

Viruses and Trojan Horses:
-------------------------

Due to the growing concern over computer viruses, Trojan horses, and other
malicious programs, BBS SysOps and ShareWare distributors have started
establishing "direct from author" libraries. We feel this is an excellent
policy, and expect to see it become more common as time passes.

For your information, we post CompuShow to CompuServe (GRAPHSUP, LIBrary 3),
GEnie (IBMPC RT, LIBrary 14) and the "GraF/X BBS" (602-282-9035) and mail
copies directly to a number of BBS SysOps and ShareWare distributors.

(Just to put in one last "plug"), your concern about possible "virus
infection" is another reason to register the ShareWare that you intend to
continue using.

Disclaimer
----------

This software is provided on an "as is" basis without warranty of any kind,
either expressed or implied, including but not limited to warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Canyon
State Systems and Software be liable for any damages arising out of the use or
inability to use this program.









[CSHOW.DOC] Page 8
Credits
-------

Graphics Interchange Format(c) copyright CompuServe Inc.
GIF(sm) is a Service Mark property of CompuServe Inc.

This software is based in part on the work of the
Independent JPEG Group

Smooth Mouse Driver(c) copyright 1992 Andy Hakim
Andy Hakim, P.O. Box 70392, Houston, Tx 77270-0392

Thank you for your support:
Bob Berry
Canyon State Systems and Software
Post Office Box 86
Sedona, Az. 86339-0086

Voice phone: (602) 282-5070
CompuServe: [76555,167]
Internet: [email protected]
GEnie: r.berry7
EMail: (602) 282-9035

Copyright (c) 1994
Canyon State Systems and Software (tm) Sedona, Az.
Worldwide Rights Reserved































[CSHOW.DOC] Page 9