DOCUMENTATION FOR VERSI-DRAW 1.0



INTRODUCTION:

VERSI-DRAW is designed primarily for programs that use graphics
in small chunks, like games and educational programs. The
graphics editor is designed for drawing of small bitmapped
pictures.

Small is a relative term. The 640x480 VGA mode will let you have
a 600x400 picture. Other modes will allow resolutions based on
the parameters of the particular graphics mode.

To call VERSI-DRAW, type "DRAW" at the DOS prompt. You can also
call VERSI-DRAW with a starting file. Just start the program
with:

DRAW .

Filename can be any pathname.

The program itself will let you draw bitmapped pictures of most
any size. Normal drawing functions, Line, Box, Ellipse, Dot,
Solid Fill, Pattern Fill and Curves are all provided. You can
also use the 12 fonts provided to put text into the drawings.
Patterns can be defined by the user and saved to files of
patterns. Patterns can be changed on the fly. Another feature
is the ability to replace specific colors with a pattern.

If you have font files that are in GEM format, those can also be
brought used by replacing existing fonts.

The program will allow you to save your drawing to three
different file formats. GFX, Borland and Microsoft format are
supported at this time. Other formats will be added as customer
needs dictate.

Files needed for the program are DRAW.EXE and the *.@ font files.
Hardware requirements are an IBM or Clone with at least 512K of
memory and a Microsoft compatible mouse. You must have at least
a CGA, but at least an EGA is strongly recommended.

In the shareware version, drawings are marked when they are
saved. This does not bother the function of the program at all
but does mark the saved pictures. The registered version outputs
clean pictures in all formats. You can still pull the pictures up
in your programs to see how the system works.

The registered version gives you the full program with the
picture masking disabled. You also get the ability to save and
import pictures into your drawing. Also you get the ability to
combine many pictures into a single large file. The registration
fee is $25.00. The registration form is at the end of this file.

Two example files are provided, BORFILE.C and JPIFILE.C. These
files show how to bring the pictures into a program. Those of
you with the GFX libraries can bring the pictures in directly
using GET_FPIC.

MAIN MENU :

FILES:

SET PATH :
This command just sets the path that the program will use to
retrieve and save files. Enter the path you want in the
box. Click on the OK box to fix the new path or "Cancel" to
leave without changing the path.

SET FILE :
The file that will be saved and retrieved is set by this
menu item. Enter the filename in the box when it comes up.
Click on the OK box to fix the new filename or "Cancel" to
leave without changing the filename.

When entering a filename, you can use wildcard characters.
A list of files matching the mask will be displayed and
you can choose the file you want.

If the file is a previously saved file, the "Picture Size"
menu item will be disabled.

PICTURE SIZE :
This is where you set the size of the picture you are going
to draw. Enter the width and height of the box when the box
comes up. Click on the OK box to fix the new sizes or
"Cancel" to leave without changing.

When you choose an existing file with SET FILE, this item
will be disabled.

DRAW :
This send you to the drawing menu and allow you to draw your
picture.


SCREEN :
This allows you to set the video mode for the drawing you
want to do. All of the "normal" IBM modes up to VGA 640x480
are supported. Right now the program is restricted to the
2, 4, and 16 color modes. 256 color modes will be in a
later update. The current mode is shown with a checkmark by
the menu entry. To choose a new mode, simply move to that
menu item and click.


UTILITIES:

COMBINE FILES:
Not implemented in the shareware version.

Allows you to combine many pictures into a single file. You
will be prompted for the number of files you wish to combine
into a single file and which format the files are in.

You will then be shown the files in the current directory
and you pick the ones you want. Click on the file you want
and then click the "OK" button to fix that file in the list.
You will have to click on the "OK" button for each file you
choose. The lower right corner of the screen will show what
picture number you are adding.

The combined format for GFX Files are the standard PIC file
format. Borland and Microsoft do not have a combined file
format so the one used is this, starting at the beginning of
the file.

First Word - Equals 66 for Borland, 77 for Microsoft.
Second Word - Number of pictures in the file.
Double Words - Double word entries that point to each
picture. The number of Double word entries
is equal to the number of pictures in the
file.
Picture Data - The actual data for the pictures in the file.

Since the Microsoft and Borland files can have valid numbers
in the first two words, this routine has no way to see that
the files that are being combined are in the proper format.
That has to be the user's responsibility.

GET FILE PATTERNS:
Allows you to bring a set of patterns that have been
previously saved with the SAVE FILE PATTERNS option. You
will be presented with a list of pattern files. Choose one
to make a new set of patterns. Cancel to keep the same
pattern set. This option only looks in the current
directory for the pattern files.

SAVE FILE PATTERNS:
Saves the current set of patterns to a disk file. Enter the
eight letter name for the set of patterns. Click on OK to
save the patterns.

Click on Cancel to leave without saving.

EDIT PATTERNS:
You will be asked to choose a pattern to edit. When you
choose, a grid will come up on the screen with an enlarged
pattern. Click the left mouse button in the squares to
toggle the pattern bit off and on. When you are finished,
click the right mouse button and the pattern will be fixed
in the position you chose.


The next three options refer to the file format that is saved
when choose the Save As option from Drawing. The files will be
saved in the format requested.

GFX FILE FORMAT:
This is normal format the file is saved in. It contains
information on The size of the picture and the video mode
that was in effect when the file was saved. This is the
format used when you choose Save from the Drawing menu.

BORLAND FORMAT:
Saved in Borland BGI format. This is a dump of the image
that would be saved under putimage(), PutImage, getimage(),
GetImage commands in Turbo C, C++ and Pascal.

MICROSOFT FORMAT:
Save in MicroSoft format. This is the format used by
MicroSoft, and JPI TopSpeed compilers. This is in the same
format used to dump the image to memory with _getimage().


DRAWING MENU
This is the area where all drawing is done. The picture is the
area in the center of the screen. The color bar is on the left
side of the screen. The drawing menu is across the top of the
screen. When you are in the drawing area the cursor will change
from white to black. This will be true under all circumstances.

There is a message area on the bottom of the screen. The current
drawing mode is shown on the right hand side of this area. Some
functions, such as Fill Solid, Fill Pattern and Pattern Replace,
require a specific chain of events. This area will show the
prompts when you are in those modes.

DRAWING FUNCTIONS:
Drawing functions are selected by bringing up the drawing menu
and clicking on the function you want. That function will remain
in effect until you change it with another choice from the
drawing menu.

The lower right hand corner of the screen will show you what
drawing mode you are in at the moment.

UNDOING BAD RESULTS:
Sometimes you may do something that just doesn't come out
right and you may want to go back to the way the drawing was
before. The way to do this is to save the drawing before
putting in the new component. When something does not turn
out right, exit to the main menu without saving the bad
drawing. Come back in with the Draw command from the menu
and the drawing will be the same as the last time you saved
it.

SETTING COLORS :
Drawing colors are set by clicking on the appropriate color
on the color selection box. The current color is outlined
in a darker color than the rest.

DRAWING DOTS :
To place a dot in the drawing, simply press the left mouse
key. A dot of the current color will be placed there. If
you hold the left mouse key down, you can use this as a free
form sketch mode.
LINES :
To draw lines, Choose "Drawing" from the main menu and click
on "Line". Whenever you want to draw a line click the left
mouse button. Use the mouse to draw the line to where you
want it and click the left button. You can also click with
the right button to cancel the operation.

ELLIPSES :
Drawing ellipses is similar to drawing a line. Click on
"Drawing" and then click on "Ellipse". Every time you want
to draw an ellipse click the left mouse button. Move the
mouse to get the ellipse shape you want.

At any time you can click the right button to cancel the
operation.

BOXES :
Drawing boxes is basically the same as drawing a line.
Choose "Drawing" and "Box" from the main menu. Move the
mouse to where you want one corner of the box to be and
click the
left button. Move the cursor, drawing the box, until you
have the box where you want it and click the left button.

At any time you can click the left button to cancel.

CURVES :
Choose curve drawing by clicking on "Drawing" and the
clicking on "Curve". The place where you clicked will be
the first anchor point on the line. Move to the second
anchor point and click with the left button. Now move the
mouse to get the curve shape you want and click the left
button. You can cancel at any point by clicking the right
mouse button.

FONT :
This function is chosen like the rest. When it is in
effect, A left mouse click will put a character at that
point. You will be prompted to enter a character. A normal
character, in the current font, will appear on the screen.
The mouse position at the time of the click will be the
upper left corner of the character. If you enter ESC as
a character, the operation will be canceled.

SPRAY :
When this function is in force, the program will behave like
a spray gun. The current color will be sprayed on the
screen as long as you hold the left button down. This
function will not allow you to "back out" with a right
button click like most of the rest will do. To undo this
you will have to go back to the main menu without saving the
picture. Reenter the drawing menu and your picture will be
as it was before.

NOTE ON FILLING ROUTINES:
The figure filling routines use an method that involves a
stack to keep track of lines above and below the line being
filled. This makes for a fast filling method but it has
some drawbacks. When the area is too large this stack will
overflow and the color/pattern will "leak" out of the
confined area. The way to get around this problem is to
section the area into several smaller areas.

Before you do any filling, save the drawing. That way if
there is an overflow, you can leave the drawing portion,
without saving the bad drawing and come back in. The
picture will be the same as the last time you saved it.

SOLID FILL :
Filling a figure with a color is a three step operation.
First you must choose the fill color from the color bar on
the left side of the screen. Just move the cursor to the
color and click the left button. Choose the boundary color
the same way. Move to a position in the area you want to
fill, and click the left button to fill the figure.

Be careful to make sure the figure you are filling is
completely enclosed by the boundary color. If it is not,
the color will leak out and cover the drawing completely.

PATTERN FILL:
Fills an enclosed area with a pattern specified in
UTILITIES/SET PATTERN. The color of the pattern is the
current color. You will be asked for the boundary color.
When you set this, move inside the figure you want to fill
and click the left mouse button. The right mouse button
will cancel.

With the default condition, any areas not covered with the
pattern will be undisturbed. This is because the default
background color for the pattern is Transparent. If you
wish to have the are not covered by the pattern another
color, choose the color from UTILITIES/PATTERN BACKGROUND
prior to filling.

PATTERN REPLACE :
Replaces a specific color with a pattern. The program first
asks you to choose the color to replace. Move to the upper
left corner of the area you wish to replace and click the
left mouse button. Mark the area that you wish to cover with
the replacement and click the left mouse button again.

Every instance of that color will be replaced by the current
pattern. The pattern color is the current color and the
background is the current background color. The patterns are
normalized to the screen so if you decide to change an
overlapping area, the patterns will line up.

If you want to replace one color with another, set up one of
your patterns to be a solid pattern and use this option.

You can cancel at any time prior to setting the area by
pressing the right mouse button.

FONTS:
This section allow you to set and use character fonts on your
screens. The font will be printed in the current color. The set
used will be the one that was selected in SET FONT. When the
program is started the Tiny Font is the default. The fonts used
are in the standard GEM format.

SET FONT :
This selection will allow you to select the font you will
use on the drawing screen. You will be shown a selection of
fonts. Simply choose the one you want and that will be the
current font.

HORIZ. TEXT :
This allows you to enter text in a standard string on the
screen. You will be prompted to move to the place you want
to enter text. When you get there, click the left button.
The right button will cancel the action.

Enter the text that you want to display. The text is XORed
on the screen at this point. A will fix the string on
the screen. will cancel the action. You can enter
text until you run out of drawing screen. When you run off
the edge of the drawing screen, the text you entered will be
transferred to the drawing screen. When the string is
written, the text is transferred to the screen in overwrite
mode.

VERT. TEXT :
The same as HORIZ. TEXT except text is written down the
drawing screen instead of across.
REPLACE FONT :
If you have the GFX fonts library or any other set of fonts
that use the GEM format, you can replace the existing fonts
with ones of your choice. The font files must reside in the
same directory as DRAW.

When this is selected, you will get a list of the current
fonts. Choose the one you want to replace. You will then
be asked to enter the name you want to use for the font and
the filename of the font. If the file is in the DRAW
directory, the values you entered will replace the one
you chose.

If the program could not find the file, an error message
will be displayed and nothing will change.


DISK FILES :

SAVE :
Saves the current drawing to the file set in the main menu.
This file is saved in GFX format for use in the drawing
program.

SAVE AS :
You will be prompted for a filename to save the current
drawing. This will not change the drawing file set in the
main menu. This option is different in that it saves the
drawing is saved in the format chosen in Main/Utilities.

IMPORT PIC :
Not implemented in shareware.

Allows you to bring in a smaller picture and place it in the
drawing. When you click on this option, you will be
prompted for the filename of the picture you wish to import.
If you want a choice, use wildcard characters in the
filename. If the file could not be found, an error message
will appear and you will be sent back to the drawing.

To place the drawing, move to the drawing and click the left
mouse button. The drawing will be XORed onto the screen. If
you do not like the position, move to another and click the
left button again. Do this until you have the drawing
placed where you want it. Hit the enter key to fix the
drawing.

If at any time you wish to cancel the operation, hit the
key or click the right mouse button.

EXPORT PIC:
Not implemented in shareware.

Allows you to take a portion of the drawing and save it to
disk. You will be prompted for the filename of the picture
you wish to save to disk. When you have entered the
filename, move the cursor to the upper left corner of the
area you want to save and click the left mouse button.

Outline the area you wish to save and click the left button
again. The drawing will be saved to disk.

If you wish to cancel at any time, click the right mouse
button.


UTILITIES :
These are various utilities that will aid in drawing
pictures.

CLEAR PICTURE :
Clears the drawing area.

MASK PICTURE :
This will allow you to mask your picture for animation.
Using this will cause all color 0's to become the highest
color on the palette. All color pixels will change to color
0. You can then use an AND/OR with the mask and drawing to
put the drawing on the screen without disturbing the
surrounding graphics.

PATTERN BACKGROUND:
This sets the background color for pattern fills. This has
a help screen attached that gives you the color numbers.
Click the right mouse button or hit the F1 key to bring up
help.

Enter the number you want for the background and click on OK
to set the color.

SET PATTERN:
This sets the pattern that will be used for pattern fills.
You will get a selection box with eight patterns. Set
pattern to use by clicking on that pattern and click on the
OK box to set the pattern. click on CANCEL to leave without
changing the pattern.

ENLARGE :
Sometimes it's hard to put that pixel exactly where you want
it. The mouse cursor sometimes obscures the area you want
to write on, or you wrote more than you wanted. The easiest
method is to write a dot of the right color to cover the
spot. The dot writing function is great for free form
sketching but can be rough to exactly place the dot in the
right spot. This is where enlarge comes in.

Enlarge allows you to blow up a 20x20 pixel are to 4 times
its size and exactly pinpoint the changes you want to make.
When you choose this option, a box appears in the upper left
hand corner of the drawing. Use the mouse to move the box
to the area you want to change and click the left button.
You will see a blown up version of the screen area you
chose.

Move to the pixel you want to change and click the left
mouse button to put the current color there. The pixel on
the screen will change when you do this. From here you can
change the current color or change other pixels. Press the
right mouse button to go back to normal mode.

Spray Size :
This sets the size of the box that is used for the spray
paint function. This option will prompt you to type in the
spray box size. The legal values are in the range 4 - 20.
If you type in value that is outside this range it will set
the value to one of 4 or 20 depending upon what side of the
range you are on.
OTHER PRODUCTS AVAILABLE

Magazine Filer:
Handy program for keeping track of magazine articles. Keep a
record of magazine articles by user defined categories and sub-
categories.

Up to 30 magazine titles can be indexed. The program will handle
20 categories, each with 20 sub-categories. Features include
printing the database, finding articles by category and sub-
category. Finding articles with a record mask is also available.

OOPTIX:
A programmers library that implements a graphical user interface
for use in your programs. The Turbo Pascal and Turbo C++
versions are object oriented for ease of use. The Turbo C Ver. 2
libraries have an OOP flavor to makes it very easy to use.

The library uses the BGI graphics that comes with all Borland
languages, so there are no extra graphics libraries to buy.

Features included are :
Mouse Support
Widgits - Thumbwheels, choice boxes, Radiopads, Buttons,
Scroll bars and much more.

Boxes - Choice boxes, Directory boxes.

Full source code comes with the package.

BiosFont:
When you have an EGA you have two fonts available in the BIOS; an
8x8 and an 8x14. With a VGA you have those two plus an 8x16
font. These fonts are nice for graphics in that they take up no
extra memory. Most libraries access these fonts through BIOS
calls which only let you write on a byte boundary and blot out
the image under the text box. Depending upon your video mode,
you only have access to the font that is the default for that
mode.

A way around this is to use BiosFont. This allows you to write
the BIOS characters anywhere on the screen. Also, underlying
graphics are not destroyed where the character is not printed.
You can also mix the fonts on the screen for different effects.

Full source code comes with the package.

ORDER FORM

Product Number Price
Versi Draw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $25.00
Magazine Filer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.00

Programmers Libraries:
OOPTIX - Turbo Pascal. . . . . . . . . . . . $45.00
OOPTIX - Turbo C Ver 2.0 . . . . . . . . . . $45.00
OOPTIX - Turbo C++ . . . . . . . . . . . . . $45.00

BiosFont - Turbo Pascal. . . . . . . . . . . $15.00
BiosFont - JPI Modula-2. . . . . . . . . . . $15.00
BiosFont - JPI C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.00

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _______

Disk Format 5 1/4[] 3 1/2[]

Name __________________________________________________

Street ________________________________________________

City __________________________________________________

State ______________________________ Zip ______________


Send to:
Michael Chapin
415 Timothy Court
Gillette, WY 82716
307-682-1195
GEnie M.CHAPIN