Category : Printer + Display Graphics
Archive   : KD-DOC.ZIP
Filename : KD_DOC.10
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10 - DEFINITIONS
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Active Layer The active layer is the one
in which you are actually drawing and is
always SCreen 1. The active layer can also
be seen and may be overlaid with the
visual layer.
ASCII
imported into a drawing. Position cursor
to the line you want the file to start
displaying at. will stop at the end of
the screen while will continue to the
end of the file. Hit
Animate
has been copied or erased with
be moved about on the screen. Animate
allows you to see the object as it moves
to aid in proper positioning. Several
other functions automatically switch to
the animation mode to allow proper object
or text placement. Animation can also be
used with the Key Macro command to jazz up
slide shows. If the animated area is large
the object will tend to flash as it is
moved. The visual horizon can be set to
allow animated objects to disappear below
the horizon.
to do animation over a blank background.
Figure 10-1 shows a screen from SLIDEMO
that uses
submersible.
DEFINITIONS 10-1
[recov]
Figure 10-1 Submersible Launch and Recov-
ery using a Motion Compensated Crane.
Angle <[>, <]>, <{>, <}> The angle from
the cursor to the last measured point is,
starting with verison 3.50, constantly
displayed on the prompt line along with
the distance to the measure point and the
x and y coordinates. <[> will rotate the
cursor position counter-clockwise around
the measure point using the cursor speed
step to determine the angle while <]> will
do the same in a clockwise fashion. <{>
rotates counter-clockwise in 90 degree
increments, while <}> rotates clockwise.
The above rotation commands work anytime
the cursor can be moved around the screen
including during line drawing, rectangle,
polygon, animate, and smear. Figure 10-2
shows a logo created with the aid of
angle.
DEFINITIONS 10-2
[logo1]
Figure 10-2 Logo for a letterhead.
Arc
First move cursor to center. Then mark the
radius and end point followed by the sec-
ond end point. Arcs are always drawn coun-
terclockwise. Pie shaped arcs can be drawn
using
ular arc. To draw an elliptical arc use
<$> to modify the screen aspect ratio just
before selecting the first end point. Be
sure to reset the proper aspect ratio
after drawing the arc.
Area
center of that area can be calculated
based on the color set by
late works by looking for a color, so to
get the area of a circle for example, the
circle must be painted in, otherwise you
are getting something closer to the per-
imeter than the area. Also see Mass and
Center.
DEFINITIONS 10-3
Arrows
increments and almost any size can be
added to the screen. The arrow will point
p,
up-right,
and
arrow is to point and use p and
to change the size before saving the
arrow. The amount of size change with each
or
setting. Arrow color is determined by
arrow, while
in arrow. An arrow symbol could as be
created with
angle.
[bspline]
B-Spline
curves can be difficult to
draw with just the cursor
keys, but with
can let the program con-
nect the dots that you
enter and create smooth
curves. This is a great feature for those,
like myself, that are not artistically
inclined. It makes complex curves easy
from the keyboard. Figure 10-3 shows a
simple b-spline curve.
Background
The screen background color can be set in
medium resolution mode by using the space
bar to page through the colors and the
background can also be set in high resolu-
tion using
sets the color that is used for the back-
ground during many operations. See Spray
paint and Fade for more information.
DEFINITIONS 10-4
BAS File extension for BASICA program.
subroutine that can be merged into your
own program. This is useful for including
logos or for creating graphic game pro-
grams. See BASICA manual for information
on merging programs. The subroutine when
called will load an array with the data to
create the image. Use the PUT command to
place the image on the screen.
BASIC is ideal for working with graphics
on a CGA since it contains just about all
of the commands you need to manipulate the
screen and graphics. Other languages
require the use of libraries to get the
graphics functions provided in BASIC.
Some insight into the operation of PC-KEY-
DRAW is possible from the BASIC manual.
In particular look at the graphics com-
mands of PUT, GET, DRAW, LINE, CIRCLE,
and PSET.
Box
Start by positioning one of the corners.
Selecting a
as you move the cursor. Position box as
desired and mark.
it is copied into
the color set by
rectangular series of dots at the color
set by
shading.
CAMERA A public domain screen capture pro-
gram is included with PC-KEY-DRAW to aid
capturing graphics from other programs.
Run CAMERA from DOS, enter program to dis-
play the desired graphic image, use
DEFINITIONS 10-5
Center animated area
mated object on the screen.
Center of area
ter of an area or the center of mass of an
object can be calculated. See Area and
Mass for more information. Figure 10-4
shows the results from calculation.
[calc]
Figure 10-4 Center and area being calcu-
lated. The units for the center dimensions
is inches and for the area square inches.
Center of circle
circle can be located by
MODE.
Circle
marking the center and then the radius of
the circle. Use <$> to match the screen
aspect ratio of your monitor and/or
printer. <$> only effects circles drawn
after a change and not already drawn
circles. To change a circle once it is
drawn use
in the appropriate direction.
DEFINITIONS 10-6
Circle Center Lines
ellipse are automatically drawn using
cursor at center of circle or ellipse and
making selection and then moving cursor to
desired size and selecting
Color
palettes are available with three colors
each plus a background color in medium
resolution from the standard color board.
unichrome colors are also available in
medium resolution by selecting
colors in high resolution are also avail-
able with
active color from a given palette for use.
The current color is displayed on the
prompt line as a number to the right of
the appropriately colored box. Some
actions are color specific. If the action
does not seem to work it may be that the
color is set wrong.
mixes for a total of 29 colors per pal-
ette. With a composite monitor 16 of the
color mixes become distinct colors. For
best results set the color palette to pal-
ette 0 or 2 (RED GREEN YELLOW).
Configure
configured to your particular system and
desires. This is done by selecting
modifying the Configuration Screen as
desired. In particular the disks that you
have available must be set. The printer
can also be configured for zoom printing.
See Status and Appendix B: for additional
information. The key macro command is
ideal for configuring the program to your
personal requirements. Key macros can be
DEFINITIONS 10-7
called from DOS when calling the program
so that each time you enter PC-KEY-DRAW it
can be set just as you like, beyond what
is saved in the Status Screen.
Coordinates PC-KEY-DRAW was originally
intended for CAD work and as such the cur-
sor position coordinates were always dis-
played on the prompt line as the cursor is
moved. In addition to the x and y coordi-
nates the distance to the measure point
and the angle to the point are also dis-
played. When using PC-KEY-DRAW as a paint
program it may not be desirable to have
the cursor coordinate readout. Use
to toggle between display on and off.
Copy
area is copied into
with smear, move, etc.
allows user to save that portion of the
screen on disk. Enter name of file includ-
ing drive. No extension on the name will
result in the program adding a PIC. A FIG
extension allows partial screens or even
entire screens to be saved in an ASCII
file format. Use
viously copied areas onto the screen from
the disk. A PIC extension added to the
name will save the enclosed portion of the
drawing in a format compatible with many
other graphics programs allowing inter-
change. The PIC extension is the most com-
pact on disk and is the default extension.
A BAS extension will save the copied area
as a BASICA subroutine for use in user
generated graphics programs. A FNT exten-
sion saves the copied area a part of a
font file under the character specified.
copied without enclosing it first.
DEFINITIONS 10-8
Cursor
cursor. The line color can be changed at
will during drawing. Use
and save to the screen. The entire cursor
key pad can be used, thus 45 degree lines
are possible.
CURSOR MODE Anytime the cursor can be
moved around on the screen using the cur-
sor keys or a mouse. If no activities are
pending the words CURSOR MODE is displayed
on the prompt line. The opposite of the
CURSOR MODE is MENU MODE, when moving the
cursor keys moves you through a menu and
doesn't move the cursor. If cursor wrap is
on (default condition), when the cursor is
moved off the edge of the screen it wraps
around to the other side. When off the
cursor will stop at the edge of the draw-
ing area.
Cursor Type
available and can be readily selected with
configuration. Cursor 0 is a small dot
that is the same as early versions. Cursor
1 is a small arrow that points to the
active area. Cursor 2 is a full screen
cross hair. Which cursor you use depends
on a lot of factors, each has its advan-
tages and disadvantages for a giving draw-
ing task.
Cursor Wrap <_> Prior to version 3.50
when the cursor was moved off the screen
the it would wrap around to the other
side. Use <_> to turn wrap off so that
the cursor will stop at the edge of the
screen and not wrap. When wrap is turned
off a line (_) is displayed under the cur-
sor speed value.
DEFINITIONS 10-9
Customizing PC-KEY-DRAW provides flexi-
bility in customizing the program to an
individuals tastes or needs. KD-DRAW.TXT
can be readily modified with any text edi-
tor to provide different prompts. Care
must be taken to conform to the conven-
tions of the existing file. This is not a
task for the novice. The macro files when
used in a HOT key file make for an ideal
method of customizing PC-KEY-DRAW. Macro
files for particular uses can be created
and combined into a HOT key file. Differ-
ent HOT key files for different tasks can
be kept on disk and called up when needed
with
DAT Data file extension containing scale
information for full screen saves. These
files can be erased to gain more disk
space, but the scale for a picture will
become pixel scaling.
Date
at the specified location on the screen.
(see also Time)
Delete File See Kill.
Delete Lines
can be deleted from the cursor position.
The number of lines that will be deleted
is dependent on the cursor speed setting
as shown on the prompt line.
Direct Coordinate Entry
coordinates can be entered directly if
desired. Direct coordinate entry can be
used from the CURSOR MODE or while in one
of the main menus.
DEFINITIONS 10-10
Directory
Where "#" is the drive letter to see the
directory of. The complete disk directory
for any drive is found with
lowed by a single drive letter or complete
drive\path specification. If <=> is used
ahead of the drive\path the drive\path
will be kept as the default for saving and
loading the various files. Partial direc-
tories can be obtained with the other
listed functions by entering the drive
followed by a
name. Only those files that pertain to a
given directive will be shown. To be able
to use the partial directory capability be
sure to let the program add the required
extension. The extension names are con-
tained in KD-DRAW.TXT and can be changed
if desired to avoid conflicting with other
programs.
Disable Workspace Set the update frequency
to 0 to disable the updating of the work-
space. This can be used for macros when
space is not available for a workspace, or
when a workspace is not desired.
Display
in 1 of 5 display forms for use in slide
shows.
1. Fade In
2. Pull Down
3. Pull Up
4. Pull Left
5. Pull Right
DEFINITIONS 10-11
Dot
marking the correct spot with a
dot can also be made as large as desired
using the width command from the CURSOR
MODE.
Down
and running down the screen use
Edge Detection See Image Processing.
Ellipse
the ellipse is drawn by first marking its
center. The horizontal radius and vertical
radius must also be marked. The radius is
marked by moving the cursor keys over and
up.
End
text, all functions in
If a line drawing is ended with
drawing is saved as a vector for later
use. See Line.
Erase
box as with copy. With
be erased and saved to the
use with move, animate, etc. With
the area is erased but not saved.
will erase a circular portion of the
screen.
to animate mode to allow quick and easy
movement of a portion of a screen.
Exit
exited with
DEFINITIONS 10-12
Extension File extensions for the various
files used by PC-KEY-DRAW have been pre-
defined, however they can be easily
changed to what ever you prefer, by edit-
ing the file KD-DRAW.TXT with any text
editor. This manual assumes they have been
kept as originally defined. See the Sec-
tion on Libraries for more information.
Fade
faded to the background by color using
or all colors can be faded using
Fatbits
the pixel level is possible using
fixed sized box. If you want to edited a
larger area select
to display 8 boxes in high resolution or 4
boxes in medium resolution. Select
to reach the editing stage. Set the color
of each individual pixel by specifying the
appropriate number (0,1,2,3). Use
to draw by selecting
color to be used. Selecting
time turns off the trace. Use
and
screens. Use
with version 3.50 Fatbits has been signif-
icantly improved to provide greater flexi-
bility in editing by providing a scroll
feature and eliminating the need for the
multiple page approach which is retain for
backward compatibility only. Scrolling is
activated with
the cursor keys or mouse will move the
screen window in the direction selected.
It is possible to scroll over the entire
screen.
scrolling off. Trace can be used with
scroll. Upon exiting the area covered is
copied and available in
DEFINITIONS 10-13
FIG Figures-see Copy. File is saved in an
ASCII format.
Fill
painted can be filled instead. The program
comes with 64 patterns on KD-PTRN.PIC.
These patterns can be changed or modified
as desired and resaved (see section for F7
for handling PIC files).
any PIC file to be called in to act as a
pattern file. The file called becomes the
default (until program is exited) and will
be used the next time
Fillet
degree corners are created by drawing a
box around corner to set the radius.
Flip
uses. Think of it as rotating the screen
through an angle. This can be used to com-
press the image and is useful in matching
completed screen to printer.
to flip a portion of the screen, while
is used to flip the entire screen.
FNT Font file. This ending must be speci-
fied to save part of a screen as a font. A
single file contains all of the font
information for the specified characters.
[softnow]
Figure 10-5 3-dimensional text created by
modifing one of the alternate text fonts
supplied with PC-KEY-DRAW.
DEFINITIONS 10-14
Fonts Two standard fonts are built into
the program. Which one is used depends on
which mode the program is operating in
(high or medium resolution). The standard
text fonts are retrieved with
be created, saved and recalled. The fonts
can be created using any and all of the
program functions. To save a font use
given font should be saved to the same
file with an FNT extension. Fonts are
recalled as needed with
ing in the text and specifying the font to
use. Figure 10-6 shows what can be done in
minutes using the four supplied fonts com-
bined with other program functions. The
"CREATE-A-FONT" title was done in several
steps, including
using
steps in a zoom to produce the "ZOOM STEP"
text. Library Disk #3 contains 14 addi-
tional text fonts along with several very
useful macros for creating BOLD, 3-D text,
outlined text and overlaid text quickly
and easily from any of the text fonts.
[create]
Figure 10-6 Simple font modifications.
DEFINITIONS 10-15
Freehand drawing
variety of methods that can be used in the
program to do freehand drawing, the most
common is to set the cursor to continuous
with
keys or a mouse. The color of the line can
be set with F10 and the drawing can be
temporarily suspended with a
or second mouse key, then restarted with
an
Etch-A-Sketch and as such has some limita-
tion.
of drawing lines, since the width can be
set and the
back up and correct mistakes. Both
and
FUN Computer graphics are not only very
useful, but can be a whole lot of fun.
GRAPHICS To print a screen on most print-
ers, GRAPHICS.COM must be run first.
GRAPHICS.COM comes with all versions of
DOS and can be part of an AUTOEXEC.BAT,
KD.BAT or run directly from DOS. With
GRAPHICS loaded a
the screen image to the printer.
GRAFTABL When in the graphics mode of a
CGA, ASCII values greater than 127 are not
defined by default. GRAFTABL is supplied
with DOS 3.* to define the ASCII charac-
ters above 127 as the same as what they
would be in a text mode. Load GRAFTABL as
part of your AUTOEXEC.BAT to use the ASCII
characters 128 to 255. It is also possible
to define your own set of high bit charac-
ters.
DEFINITIONS 10-16
Grid
dots can be placed or removed with
from the CURSOR MODE. A grid made of lines
is placed with
a third grid type with
vides lines that are XORed with the screen
for easier view of what is under the grid.
The user must specify the spacing between
grid points. The color of grid is set by
the current active color when
a separate layer and do not become part of
the drawing.
Grid Jump
cursor
nearest grid point to the right, while
grid point to the left of the current cur-
sor position.
Help
able in the CURSOR MODE or when entering
any function. Selecting ,
the first time will turn on the pull down
menus. Selecting
display a disk file as appropriate for the
section you are in.
turn off the pull down menus from the CUR-
SOR MODE. Help is available from the CUR-
SOR MODE or anytime the menu is displayed
on the prompt line. Selecting help while
in the PAN mode (
a map of the current page in relation to
the 64 pages.
DEFINITIONS 10-17
Hot Keys
defined to customize PC-KEY-DRAW to your
own personal needs and desires. KD-
DRAW.HOT contains the names of key macros
(previously created) that are activated
with one of the hot keys. The name of the
HOT key file to use is set with
DRAW.HOT, but as many HOT key files as
desired can be created and kept on disk.
HOT key files may consist only of macro
names associated with the HOT keys, so
that the particular file is called and run
when its HOT key is selected. HOT key
files can also be compiled with MAKHOT-
LIB.EXE to create a single file that
includes both the function key definitions
and the macros themselves. Compiled HOT
key files have a great advantage in mini-
mizing the disk space required for macros.
[imagepro]
Figure 10-7 Basic image processing is pos-
sible with PC-KEY-DRAW. A digitized image
in original form is shown along with pro-
cessing for vertical edge, horizontal
edge, and both edge enhancement.
DEFINITIONS 10-18
Image Processing Basic image processing is
possible on digitized or scanned images.
Figure 10-7 shows a sample picture with
vertical edge, horizontal edge, and both
edge enhancement/detection. Edge detection
is accomplished with the aid of
and
copy the image, move one pixel to the left
and move the image in place. For horizon-
tal edge detection start with a clean
image, copy the image, move one pixel
down, and move the image in place.
Insert line
inserted at the cursor position. The num-
ber of lines inserted is determined by the
setting of the cursor speed, as displayed
on the prompt line. Inserting a line sim-
ply puts space at the cursor position.
Isometric Drawing Toggles the isomet-
ric drawing mode. When activated the cur-
sor moves at a 30 or 60 degree angle
instead of a 45 degree angle. Circles are
also adjusted accordingly. Figure 10-8
shows a drawing made with the aid of the
isometric mode.
[table]
Figure 10-8 Drawing made in isometric
mode.
DEFINITIONS 10-19
Joystick Any standard joystick can be used
with version 3.50 or later of PC-KEY-DRAW.
All references to mice also apply to joy-
sticks.
Jump
vity is set by the
sitivity number of 5 seems to be good for
a mouse, while 10 works well with a joy-
stick. The jump factor can be saved to
disk with
Jump
from 0 to 9 inclusive. Allows a screen
position to be set and remembered. First
position the cursor as desired, select
The screen positioned is now remembered on
disk for future use. At any time select
instantly. For compatibility with past
versions keep
corner) KD-DRAW.JMP is created the first
time a jump position is set.
KD-TRANS.EXE (PC-KEY-DRAW macro TRANSla-
tor) provides easier editing of macro
files by translating keystroke codes into
the names of the keystrokes. While MaCRo
files can be edited directly with many
text editors, it is easier to first trans-
late the MaCRo file to a TeXT file. After
editing use KD-TRANS.EXE to translate back
to a MaCRo file. KD-TRANS.EXE must be
called from DOS.
DEFINITIONS 10-20
Keep
object or drawing a circle the drawing is
modified by the box. When the
hit to complete the box the screen is
first restored and then the action takes
place. Sometimes the effect is desirable.
While in the CURSOR MODE selecting
keeps the drawing as it is seen at that
moment. Using
help screen, or layer and should be used
with care.
Key Macro
feature of Version 3 and potentially the
most useful. I have yet to fully examine
all of the uses, but they include at a
minimum, macros, slide shows with anima-
tion, drawing saves, program customiza-
tion. Several commands such as <*>,
for use with key macros. The demo/tutorial
supplied with the program is a sample of
using a key macro as a slide show. Basi-
cally, what a key macro does is to remem-
ber every key stroke that you make and
save them to an ASCII sequential file for
later retrieval. The file that is saved
consists of the key stroke code followed
by the number of times the key is struck.
The files produced are very small and
offer the maximum use of disk space. A Key
Macro is started by selecting
while in the CURSOR MODE and assigning a
name to a file to be created. Everything
after this is recorded until
selected a second time. Selecting
a third time allows the just saved key
macro to be run. (See the section on the
Key Macro command)
DEFINITIONS 10-21
Kill
the complete name including the drive
designation.
Layers
64 layers or overlays can be used to aid
in creating drawings. Layers can be
thought of as drawing on clear sheets.
Only the active layer is modified, but
other layers can be visual if desired. It
takes about 1 meg. of memory to handle 64
layers so it is only practical with a hard
disk or better yet a RAM disk. (See RAM
Disk) When layers are active scrolling of
1/2 pages is disabled. Use
pletely turn off layers.
Lines
successive end points with
the line is drawn, its length and angle
are displayed on the prompt line. Lines
are used to generate vector objects that
can be saved and retrieved at a later time
at any angle or scale.
the line to the screen only.
save the line to the screen and to a user
specified file as a vector. The object is
saved with scaling so that when it is
recalled it can be matched to the scale of
the drawing in progress. Vectors are use-
ful for flow chart symbols, or for other
commonly used line objects where scale and
angle are important. Use the
to temporarily suspend line drawing and
the
color can be set as desired. Lines can
also be drawn with
sor for more information.
DEFINITIONS 10-22
Macros
keystrokes entered in the program while
during macro creation. The saved key-
strokes can then be played back. Macros
can be used to automate frequently
repeated keystrokes, used to save an
entire drawing or used to create a self
running slide show demo.
lets you change which HOT key file is used
to define the function keys.
MAKHOTLIB.EXE (MAKe HOT key LIBrary) HOT
key files can be compiled (libraried) to
include all of the various macros called
in the HOT key file. MAKHOTLIB.EXE must
be run from DOS. It will create a blank
KD-DRAW.HOT if one is not found in the
current directory. The file can then be
edited, with a standard text editor, to
add the names of macros to be called when
a function key is selected. If MAKHOT-
LIB.EXE is run when KD-DRAW.HOT exists, it
will compile the file by combining it with
all of the macro files that it can find in
the current directory. Use unlibraried HOT
key files for testing and libraried/com-
piled HOT key files for distribution.
Mass
center of mass can be calculated based on
user supplied density parameters for each
color. See Area and Center.
MCR macro file extension.
Measure
between two points can be measured by
marking one end with a
cursor to the second point. The distance
is displayed on the prompt line. Measure
is always active and gives the radius of
DEFINITIONS 10-23
circles, the dimensions of boxes, and the
length of lines.
the last measured point. (See Scale).
fly. First mark a point with
move a known distance and with
tell PC-KEY-DRAW what that distance is.
Menu
vides two basic methods of entering a com-
mand. The command can be entered directly
for fastest operation or selected from a
menu. Version 3.50 provides full menu sup-
port for nearly every command available.
Menus can be supplemented by turning on
the help menu in the top left corner of
the screen. To enter the primary menu
select
with the cursor keys. When the desired
function is displayed hit
to the next menu, then move through the
menu with the cursor keys to highlight the
desired function and hit enter to start
that function. Any menu item can be
reached directly by hitting the high-
lighted key combination directly. Remember
lowercase, uppercase, control and alter-
nate have a somewhat different effect for
each command. In the menu the need for
shift is displayed with a "S", control
with "C", and alternate with "A".
Merge
together as one. Start by loading
or SCreen 2. Switch to SCreen F7 and load
the screen to be merged. Switch back to
the first screen and put the cursor in the
top left hand corner. Select