Full Description of File
Supports BMP,GIF,JPG,PCX,TGA,TIF & IMG &
HPGL plotter files. Create arrays up to 144
images/screen to use as graphic menus.
Requires a graphics card with VESA BIOS or
driver & extended mem. Up to 1280x1024x256.
Pan/color/bright/scale/crop/fade controls.
24 bit color support. Print BW or Color to
HP DeskJets (incl 500C/550C), LaserJets &
PaintJet. V 5.0 adds major enhancements.
| VESAView, version 5.0. A utility which allows you to view and print .GIF, .PCX and .IMG/.GEM images and HPGL plotter files. Arrays of up to 81 images per screen can be generated and saved as .GIF’s. Supports VESA thru 128 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| File Name | File Size | Zip Size | Zip Type |
| FILE_ID.DIZ | 470 | 328 | deflated |
| VESAVIEW.DOC | 70818 | 22911 | deflated |
| VESAVIEW.EXE | 477504 | 163949 | deflated |
| VESAVIEW.ICO | 2238 | 460 | deflated |
| VESAVIEW.LGO | 30962 | 27942 | deflated |
| VESAVIEW.LGX | 7693 | 7412 | deflated |
| VESAVIEW.WP | 94676 | 30274 | deflated |
Download File VESAVW50.ZIP Here
Contents of the VESAVIEW.DOC file
TABLE of CONTENTS:
Keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Brief Desc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
LEGAL STUFF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
REGISTRATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
DISCLAIMER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
PROGRAM FILE LIST: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
INSTALLING PROGRAM:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
RUNNING with COMMAND LINE QUALIFIERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
SYSTEM DEFAULTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
CHANGING DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
VIEW SINGLE IMAGE (from Text directory). . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
VIEW MULTIPLE IMAGES (slide show) (from Text
directory) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
VIEW / CREATE AN ARRAY OF IMAGES (from Text
directory) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
AUTO ARRAY GENERATION/SAVING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
VIEWING FILES (from a previously created Array
image) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
VIEWING GIF89A FILES - Special Case. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
VIEWING HPG or PLT FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
VIEWING ASCII FILES: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
DELETING FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
SEARCHING FILENAMES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
SPECIAL KEYS WHILE VIEWING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
SAVING SCREEN AS a BMP, GIF or PCX FILE . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
SAVING SCREEN AS a JPG FILE: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
CROPPING SCREEN & SAVING AS a BMP, GIF, JPG or PCX
FILE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
SCALING XMEM CONTENTS TO SCREEN & SAVING . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
SAVING XMEM CONTENTS AS an IMG or PCX FILE . . . . . . . . . . . 14
PRINTING IMAGES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
MOUSE USE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
RUNNING Under WINDOWS 3.1: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
CAUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
HINTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
CARDS TESTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
SUPPORT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
REVISION HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
VESAVIEW.EXE v 5.0
Keywords: VESA BMP GIF IMG JPG PCX TGA TIF HPGL PRINT CATALOG VIEWER
DESKJET LASERJET PAINTJET
Brief Desc: View and print BMP, GIF, IMG/GEM, JPG, PCX, TGA & TIF
images & HPGL plotter files. Arrays of up to 144
images/screen can be generated and saved for easy
cataloging. HPGL plot files can be saved as B&W
files. Mouse support. Requires a VESA driver for
your graphics card and enough extended memory to hold
entire image. Supports VESA modes thru
1280x1024x256. Quick panning of images larger than
your screen resolution. Color/brightness/contrast
adjustments, scaling & cropping of color images. Fade
control for slide shows. 24 bit color reduction for
BMP, JPG, TGA & PCX. Excellent Black & White printing
to HP DeskJet or LaserJet. Superb Color printing to
HP PaintJet, PaintJet XL, PaintJet XL300 and DeskJet
500C/550C. Images can be selected graphically from
previously created arrays.
LEGAL STUFF: Copyright (c) William M. White 1992,1993.
Compuserve ID: 71170,2340
The VESAVIEW product is Shareware. If you find it useful, please
register your copy and tell your friends about it. This product may
not be sold or packaged, either individually, or as part of any other
product without the express written consent of the author. This
product may not be changed or altered and then distributed without the
express written consent of the author. The VESAVIEW.DOC &
VESAVIEW.LGO files must accompany VESAVIEW.EXE whenever the
non-registered version is distributed.
The JPEG decoding and encoding portion of this program "is based in
part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group". "The Graphics
Interchange Format (c) is the Copyright property of CompuServe
Incorporated. GIF (sm) is a Service Mark property of CompuServe
Incorporated."
REGISTRATION:
Please send your $35.00 registration fee to:
William M. White
P. O. Box 2273
Glen Allen, VA. 23058-2273
By Registering your copy, you will receive an unhindered copy of the
latest version of VESAVIEW and help support the continued development
of the product. You will also receive a personal User Access Code so
that you can easily convert any new shareware versions from the
following BBSs into your new registered copy, thus eliminating
additional fees for update mailings. Current shareware versions of
the product will always be available on Compuserve in the GRAPHSUPPORT
forum (GO PICS) and on the Blue Ridge Express Bulletin Board (804)-
790-1675. Replacement or upgrade disks will be available for $10.00
to cover handling. NOTE: Your registered copy of the program
produces a file named VESAVIEW.REG which should never be distributed
since it will be encoded with your name and access code..
DISCLAIMER:
VESAVIEW is offered to you on an as-is-basis without any guarantee as
to the correct functioning or fitness for a specific purpose. The
author believes this program to work as described but you use the
program entirely at your own risk. The author will not be responsible
for any hardware or software damage, loss of data, or incidental or
consequential damage that may result from its use, whether or not such
use is in accordance with the instructions.
PROGRAM FILE LIST:
The following files make up the shareware version of VESAVIEW which
may be distributed to other BBSs or friends:
VESAVIEW.EXE - Main program
VESAVIEW.LGO - Logo Screen for SVGA
VESAVIEW.LGX - Logo Screen for VGA
VESAVIEW.ICO - Icon for use when running from Windows 3.1
VESAVIEW.DOC - ASCII version of document file
VESAVIEW.WP - WordPerfect v 5.1/5.2 version of document file
FILE_ID.DIZ - Brief program description used by some
bulletin boards
NOTE: After running VESAVIEW for the first time, a personal access
file will be created named VESAVIEW.REG. Please DO NOT distribute
this file.
REQUIREMENTS:
o IBM compatible 286 or better
o Extended memory (and driver such as HIMEM). For 256 (& higher)
color files, you'll need 1 byte/pixel in your image. For 2
color files, you'll need 1 byte per 8 pixels in your image.
This program conforms to XMS 2.0 specification. 8MB of extended
memory is recommended expecially if you will be using graphic
array menus and working with JPEG files.
o Will use a math coprocessor if available
o A graphics card that supports the VESA BIOS EXTENSIONS for the
'Super VGA modes' either through hardware or a software driver.
NOTE: If no VESA driver is found, you will be limited to
320x200x256 or 640x480x2 non-VESA modes which won't allow arrays
to be generated.
FEATURES:
o Will read in any size up to 1280 x 1024:
BMP (Windows) - 16, 256 color & 24 bit (16 million
colors)
GIF (Compuserve 87a/89a) - 16 & 256 color
IMG (GEM/Digital Research Inc) - B & W
JPG (JPEG/JFIF) - Grayscale & 24 bit (16 million colors)
PCX (Zsoft) - 2, 16, 256 color & 24 bit (16 million
colors)
TGA (Targa) - 8,16, 24 & 32 bit (non-compressed RGB
& Run length encoded RGB)
TIF - B & W, 16c, 256c & 24 bit (non-compressed & run
length encoded)
HPG - (Hewlett Packard) HPGL plot files (.HPG or .PLT)
TEXT - ASCII files with up to 2000 lines with extensions
of .1ST, .ANS, .ASC, .ASM, .BAT, .C, .DIZ, .DOC,
.H, .LIS, .ME, .TXT and .VNX.
o Files can be selected either from a text directory listing or
graphically from a previously created array of images (mouse
required for graphic selection). Multiple selections are
displayed in the order selected.
o If the file is larger than the screen mode you selected, you can
quickly pan around the image. Size of image is limited only by
the amount of extended memory you have. NOTE: The entire image
is read into Extended memory to allow for quick panning of large
images. Black & White images are stored in memory with 1 byte
per 8 pixels. 16 (4 bit) and 256 color (8 bit) images are stored
in memory with 1 byte per pixel. 24 & 32 bit images are stored
in memory as 256 color images so only 1 byte per pixel is
required.
o Black & White printing (color images will be halftoned) and
Color printing are supported. Prints can be sized, rotated and
positioned on paper. Printers supported are HP LaserJet Series,
DeskJets, DeskJet 500/500C/550C, PaintJet, PaintJet XL, and
PaintJet XL300.
o Red/Blue/Green/Contrast/Brightness values may be changed while
viewing a color image. Image can be converted to GrayTone.
o Color screen images can be saved as a 256 color BMP, GIF, JPG or
PCX file. These images may be cropped & scaled before saving.
o Black & White images can be saved as an IMG or 2 color PCX file.
This is useful to save a HPGL file that is displayed on screen
out to a quicker retrieving raster file. If these images are
displayed in a color VESA mode they can also be saved &/or
cropped as 256 color BMP, GIF, JPG or PCX files.
o Arrays of up to 144 images can be displayed on a single screen
at once. This screen can then be saved as a single BMP, GIF,
JPG or PCX file for cataloging or printing or use as a graphic
menu for VESAVIEW.
o Supports VESA modes (assuming your graphics card can handle):
100 - 640 x 400 x 256
101 - 640 x 480 x 256
103 - 800 x 600 x 256
105 - 1024 x 768 x 256
107 - 1280 x 1024 x 256
o Will support a 800 x 600 x 2 color B&W mode if your card has
one. (See /SVn option below)
o Supports the use of a MicroSoft compatible 2-button mouse.
NOTE: The annoying beeps and NON-Registered notices will be
removed from registered copies. Also, the NON-Registered
version does not support the new printing options (sizing,
rotating and positioning), nor the Compressing of printer
data.
INSTALLING PROGRAM:
Create a directory on your HardDrive to hold the VESAVIEW program
files. Copy the zipped file you downloaded from a BBS or received on
diskette into this directory. The ZIP file is usually named
VESAVWnn.ZIP where nn represents the version number. Unzip it using
PKUNZIP version 2.04g or higher (earlier versions will not work). Set
your default directory to the VESAVIEW directory you've created and
type in VESAVIEW to run the program. The first time you run it,
you'll be asked to enter your registration information including User
Name and Access Code. This personal access information will be stored
in a new file named VESAVIEW.REG in your VESAVIEW directory. Please
DO NOT distribute this file. All files in the original zipped file
may be distributed to your friends or other BBS as the Shareware
version.
RUNNING with COMMAND LINE QUALIFIERS:
Make sure you have enough extended memory available and that a driver
(such as HIMEM) is loaded. Make sure your graphics card has VESA BIOS
EXTENSIONS (VBE) either built-in or that you have installed a VESA
software driver. Keyin:
VESAVIEW [/AB or /AW] [/AMmode] [/AS] [/CS, /CO or /COD] [/Dn]
[/Fn] [/FN, /FB or /BW] [/FTMn] [/LOmode] [Mx] [/NB] [/NLAM]
[/P1, /P2 or /PF] [/PAn] [/PC] [/PGn] [/PLMn] [/PRn] [/PTMn]
[/PSBH, /PSBS, /PSCH or /PSCS] [/PTDJ, /PTLJ, /PTPJ, /PTPJXL,
/PTPJXL3, /PTDJC or /PTDJ5C] [/PWn] [/SVn] [/UPSA, /UPSB or
/UPSC] [/WN, /WH or /WF] where items in brackets are optional.
CAUTION: DOS has a limitation of 127 characters on the command line.
If you exceed this when adding qualifiers, some may be truncated.
NOTE: Underlined (or *) qualifiers are only available in the
REGISTERED VERSION. The optional qualifiers can also be changed while
in the program by pressing
These changes are only for the current session and will not be saved.
A 'space' is needed between each qualifier on the command line. If
you wish to use the same qualifiers each time you evoke the program,
write a BAT file like:
CD \GIF rem Assumes your graphics files are here
\VV\VESAVIEW /P1 /NW /CO rem Assumes program in VV dir
The /AB forces the array mode to use a black background and white text
for the filenames.
The /AW forces the array mode to use a white background and black text
(saves black ink when printing).
The /AMmode (where mode is 100, 101, 103, 105 or 107) will let you
default to a specific mode when displaying arrays. The program will
default to mode 101 if this switch is not used. Only use a mode
number that your card can support!
The /AS (array sizes) enables the display of image sizes above each
image of an array. The size will be displayed after the filename of
each image only if it will fit. Typically at a resolution of
1024x768, the sizes will fit on 6x6 arrays and below. At 800x600, the
sizes will fit on 5x5 arrays and below. At 640x480, the sizes will
fit on 4x4 arrays. Each image is tested individually, so on a given
array screen, some sizes may appear and some may not. You will see
the sizes displayed after all images on a page have been processed.
The /CO (color-optimized) will force 16, 24 & 32 bit images to be
processed using an optimized 256 color palette. The process reads in
all the colors in your image, creates a histogram of the most used
colors, and then creates an optimized palette of the results. The
processing time is greater than if the /CS option is used, but the
results are spectacular. The color reduction method used is much
faster than that of other program that I have tested. After the
image has been displayed on the screen, you might want to save it as
a 256 BMP, GIF, JPG or PCX file, so that the next time you want to
display it, you can use the quicker 256 color version.
The /COD qualifier is similar to /CO above, expect that besides using
an optimized palette, the image will also be dithered to smooth out
the transition between colors.
The /CS (color-standard) will force 16, 24 & 32 bit images to be
displayed using a standard palette. The colors will be adequate for
previewing, but for more exact colors, use the /CO.
The /Dn (delay) is for setting the delay in seconds to use between
slides. The n is an integer number from 1 to 999 and defaults to 5
seconds. This time is approximate and will vary depending on the
size of the image being read in.
The /Fn (fade) option will fade in and out your images on screen when
displaying them as a slide show. The n can range from 0 to 10. 0 is
no fade, 1 is the fastest fade and 10 is the slowest fade.
The /FN, /FB or /FW specify the foreground color (N=none, B=Black and
W=White) of your Black & White images. By specified foreground color,
the program will be able to save more of your image's original context
when scaling down. This qualifier works best if your images are line
drawings and not pictures. For example, if your image appears on the
screen as black lines on a white background, use the /FB qualifier.
If your images don't have a main foreground color such as the case
with pictures, use /FN. Note that using either the /FB or /FW
qualifiers will increase the processing time for B&W scaling. If you
don't need the increased quality, use /FN.
The /FTMn (fixed top margin) option will allow you to override the
program's default values for that part on the top of a page that your
printer can't print on. The defaults are:
0.1" - DeskJet, DeskJet 500, DeskJet 500C
0.05"- DeskJet 550C
0.0" - LaserJet Series, PaintJet XL, PaintJet XL300
0.0" - PaintJet (tractor feed)
If your printed margins don't match what you set in the Printer Setup
Menu, then use this qualifier to adjust them.
The /IDx (index drive override) option will allow you to override the
drive that is embedded in the graphic menu index files (.VNX). This
is useful if you create graphic menus and their indexes on one drive
and later move them to another drive. x is the drive letter (A-Z) you
want to use instead of the one in the index file, or make x = 0 to use
the current drive you're on. The other alternative to this qualifier
is to actually edit the first line in the index file (.VNX) to reflect
the new drive letter.
The /LOmode (lockout mode) (where mode is 100, 101, 103, 105 or 107)
will lock out a mode. This is useful if your VESA driver is designed
for a graphics card which has been fully populated with memory chips
but your card doesn't have all of this memory installed. You may use
more than one of these switches on your command line.
The /Mx (mask for filenames) will allow you to include only certain
file types in your directory listing. It can be one of the following:
/MALL (all filenames), /MDIS (all displayable graphics files), /MBMP
(only *.BMPs), /MGIF (only *.GIFs), /MIMG (only *.IMGs), /MJPG (only
*.JPGs), /MPCX (only *.PCXs), /MTGA (only *.TGAs) /MTIF (only *.TIFs).
Note: Array index files (.VNX) are always accessible by the program,
even if they are not being displayed in your directory listing.
Caution: When you use this qualifier to eliminate the display of
certain file types from your screen, and you display a previously
created array image that includes file types that are not currently
displaying, those files will not be found even though they are
actually in the directory. (they will be flaged on screen with a red
crosshatch)
The /NB (no beep) option will disable the beeps after images are
displayed on screen. The default is to beep.
The /NLAM (no load array into memory) will disable the automatic
loading of the first graphic array menu into XMEM even if there is
enough memory to do so. The program by default will load the first
array image that will be used as a graphic menu into XMEM, if there
is enough memory to hold this array and one more image (both are
assummed to be the maximum size of 1280x1024x256). If you are low on
XMEM and you wish to be able to pull up larger files (B&W for example)
from the array menu, you will probably need to use this qualifier.
The /P1 or /P2 (port) designates which printer port to use for
printing (LPT1 or LPT2).
The /PF option forces printer output to a file instead of a port. The
file will be created in your current directory with the same filename
as your image file but with an extension of .VVP . This option works
with multiple plots as well. No checking for duplicate filenames is
done. To plot the file(s), from DOS keyin:
COPY/B filename.VVP LPT1:
where filename could be a wildcard and LPT1: could be LPT2:. The /B
instructs DOS to use a binary copy mode.
The /PAn (print angle) is used to rotate your print on the printed
page. Values for n can be 0, 90, 180 or 270.
* The /PC (print compress) option will force the transfer of data from
your computer to the printer to be in a compressed (encoded) format.
This will speed up the transfer of data (especially for serial or
networked printers). Time savings will vary depending on the type and
size of plot. In some cases, you may find no time savings overall
since the printer has to decompress the data, but your CPU should be
freed up from processing sooner. (default is no compress). The
PaintJet and LaserJet II don't support this type of data compression.
If your printouts look garbled, don't use this qualifier.
The /PGn (print gamma correction) option will allow you to adjust the
gamma of your Black & White or Color print. Simply put, gamma
correction will adjust the intensities of red, green & blue values
logarithmically since the human eye's perception of color intensity
is non-linear. The gamma value is a decimal value between 0.5 and
2.0. If set to 0, no gamma correction will be performed. If this
qualifier is not used, gamma defaults to a value best suited for the
printer type selected. Using higher values will result in the darker
colors in your image being printed lighter and the lighter ones
remaining the same. This gives a much more natural looking printout.
* The /PRn (printer resolution) is used to specify the resolution in
dots per inch (dpi) of your active printer. For the DeskJet series,
it can be 75, 150 or 300. For the PaintJet series (except XL300), it
can be 90 or 180. Defaults to highest resolution for selected
printer.
The /PSx (print style) option allows you to select the style of
printing for Black & White or Color prints. It can be one of the
following: /PSBH (B&W Halftone), /PSBS (B&W Scatter), /PSCH (Color
Halftone) or /PSCS (Color Scatter). The Halftone styles will process
much faster than the Scatter dithering types which use an error
difusing algorithm, however, the Scatter styles will in most cases
have much better detailing and quality. Halftoning is the default.
The /PTx (printer type) is used to select your printer. It can be one
of the following: /PTDJ (HP DeskJet), /PTLJ (HP LaserJet), /PTPJ (HP
PaintJet), /PTPJXL (HP PaintJet XL), /PTPJXL3 (HP PaintJet XL300),
/PTDJC (HP DeskJet 500C) or /PTDJ5C (HP DeskJet 550C).
* The /PWn (print width) is used to specify a print width. It is a
decimal value from 0.0 to 10.5. If you enter a number greater than
8.0, the print will automatically be rotated 90 degrees. The print
width represents the width that you want the horizontal image
dimension as seen on your screen to be printed, no matter what
rotation angle you use.
* The /PTMn (printer top margin) sets the number of inches from the
current position of printhead that the image will start printing. It
is a decimal value ranging from the minimum value of your printer (see
/FTMn above) to 10.0. If set to 99, your image will be centered from
top to bottom.
* The /PLMn (printer left margin) sets the number of inches from the
left side of page that the image will start printing. It is a decimal
value from 0.25 to 7.5. If set to 99, your image will be centered
from left to right. The maximum printable width on all printers is
8.0" (1/4" left & right margins).
The /SVn (SVGA) will allow you to use a 800 x 600 x 2 color mode to
display IMG or HPGL files in a high resolution mode if your graphics
card supports it. The n is the decimal mode number that your card
uses for this mode. Most Paradise cards use 41 decimal for this mode,
and the Tseng cards (including Orchid) use 89 decimal. This special
mode and the standard 640 x 480 x 2 mode will allow faster panning on
screen than the same resolutions in VESA modes will for large B & W
images. NOTE: The panning icon which is available in VESA modes is
not available for B & W modes.
The /UPSA, /UPSB & /UPSC (unknown plot size) qualifiers will allow the
user to specify a default plot size (A, B. or C) if the program that
created the .PLT file did not include the HPGL cmd PS to signify what
the Plot Size was. If one of these qualifiers is not used, and the
.PLT file doesn't have a PS cmd, VESAVIEW will default to a 'C' size
plot.
The /WF (full weights) will display the weights as originally drawn.
The /WH (weight half) is similar to /WN except that the weights of
lines will be halved (divided by 2).
The /WN (weight none) will not display weights of lines in an HPGL
plot file if the SP (select pen) keyword was used when creating the
plots. This will greatly speed up the screen drawing if you don't
need to look at or print the weights. Some CAD programs which
generate the plot files create weighted lines by simply drawing the
lines multiple times in the plot file (each slightly offset) and not
by using the SP (set pen) command. The /WN & /WH switches will have
no effect on this type of plot files.
SYSTEM DEFAULTS: /AB /AM101 /COD /D5 /F0 /FB /MALL /P1 /PTDJ
/PW8.0 /PA0 /PTM0.25 /PLM0.25 /PXS1.0 /PYS1.0
/UPSC /WF
Ex: VESAVIEW /P2 /AW /D10 - Will use printer port LPT2:,
display arrays with a white background, and delay 10 seconds
between slides.
Ex: VESAVIEW /LO105 /LO107 /AM103 - Will lockout modes 105 and
107 from being valid VESA modes and will use mode 103 when
displaying arrays.
The program will test to see if your graphics card supports the VESA
Bios Extensions by either hardware or software driver, whether you
have a HIMEM driver loaded and how much extended memory you have
available.
Use the
exit the program.
CHANGING DIRECTORY:
While the list of files is on your screen, you can change your current
directory by placing the cursor on the lite blue entries (which are
directory names) and pressing
you back to the root directory, and the .. (double dots) will take you
back one directory level. Selecting a yellow Disk Drive entry will
change your disk drive.
You can also press the
a new path that can include a new disk drive. (Ex: B: or B:\ or C:\GIF
or C:\IMAGES\GIF or \GIF or \GIF\). NOTE that the program tolerates
trailing backslashes.
VIEW SINGLE IMAGE (from Text directory):
To view a single image move the cursor (with arrows, pageup, pagedown,
home or end keys) to the desired image file and press
select a Vesa Mode from the Mode Menu. An asterisk denotes the Best
Mode (calculated by the program) which will display the most of your
entire image on a single screen in the best resolution. After your
image is displayed, press
main menu. Note that when viewing IMG files or HPGL files, you can
use a VESA mode (only B&W colors used), use the standard 640 x 480 x
2 mode or use the Super VGA mode that you optionally entered on the
command line. Entries in gray on the Mode Menu are not available for
your graphics card.
VIEW MULTIPLE IMAGES (slide show) (from Text directory):
To view multiple images as a 'slide show', use the
right mouse button) to select the images you wish to view. You can
mark all images in the current directory with the
to MARK with mouse) or unmark them with the key (or UNMARK with
mouse). These can include BMP, GIF, IMG, JPG, PCX, TGA, TIF, PLT and
HPG files. By pressing the
&/or Directory. Press
slide show. The files will be displayed one by one in the best VESA
mode as determined by the program (640x480x2 mode is used for PLT &
HPG files). The delay between slides will vary depending on the time
it takes to read in the next file while one is on your screen and the
value used in the /Dn switch. Fading in and out between multiple
images can be done by using the /Fn switch. After the last file is
displayed, the program will loop back to first slide. Pressing
(or right mouse button) during the display will stop the slide show.
(this may take several seconds). Note: Files will be displayed in
the order in which they were selected. You can pause the slide show
by pressing the
the show.
VIEW / CREATE AN ARRAY OF IMAGES (from Text directory):
To view multiple images on a single screen at once, use the
These can include BMP, GIF, IMG, JPG, PCX, TGA and TIF files but not
PLT or HPG files. Press (or point to ARRAY with mouse) to select
array display. Select the VESA mode from Mode Menu and then select
the number of images to display per screen page. Then sit back and
watch your images appear. Pressing
abort the display after the current image is displayed. After each
page is displayed, you could press to save the currently displayed
page as a Windows BMP file,
ZSoft PCX file or
If you used the /AS qualifier or selected 'Show Array Sizes' from the
Options Menu, the image sizes will be displayed alongside the
filenames.
Since each image uses it own unique 256 colors, a special optimized
color table and color dithering is used to display arrays. Note that
when displaying a 2-color file in an array, the scaling down of the
original image (especially a line type drawing) will cause much of the
info to be lost on the screen unless the /FB or /FW command qualifier
is used.
Creating arrays of your images is a good method of saving a sequence
of images for a slide show. They are saved in the array in the order
you selected them. To play them back, just pull up that array image,
press 'M' to mark all images, and press left mouse button to display
them.
WARNING: Files with more than 81 (9 x 9) images per page should not
be viewed with versions of VESAVIEW prior to version 5.0 since a
system hangup could occur because of internal array variable overflow!
NOTE: Arrays are only available in VESA modes. Files will be
arranged in the array in the order in which they were selected.
AUTO ARRAY GENERATION/SAVING:
If you are going to have many pages (screens) of array images and you
will be saving them all out as single files, you can do this
automatically by the
the generate option. This will automatically display the arrays on
the screen and then save them out without any user intervention until
the last one is processed. You begin just as you would for the
standard array option by selecting the files to display, the VESA
mode, and then the number of images/page. You are first prompted for
the file type to use when saving. Then you are prompted for the first
1-6 characters of the filename that the program will use for the files
it generates. You may precede the filename with a Disk & Directory
if you don't want to use the current Disk/Dir. The system will
append a 2 digit page number and appropriate extension to your input.
EX: You are going to have 3 pages of array images and you select
will generate 3 files named TEST01.GIF, TEST02.GIF & TEST03.GIF.
VIEWING FILES (from a previously created Array image):
If you have previously created and saved an array of images, you can
use it to graphically select the images you want to display either
singularly or as a slide show or for plotting. NOTE: A mouse is
required for this mode. Just select the array image from the Text
directory listing. After it is displayed, use the box shaped cursor
to select the files. The left mouse button will select one file and
display it immediately. The right mouse button is used to Mark/Unmark
files for a slide show or multiple plotting. Files are outlined with
a red box when they are marked. If a file on your array menu does not
exist in your current any more, the file will be cross-hatched with
red lines. After all files you desire are marked, press the left
mouse button to start the display. The /Dn and /Fn (delay and fade)
work with multiple selections from arrays. Files will be displayed
in the order that they were selected on the screen. If you want to
display all of the files in the same order they were created, just
press 'M' to mark them all, and press the left mouse button to start
the show. NOTE: Normally a right mouse button is used to Quit the
current image, but since that button is used to Mark/Unmark files in
the array menu, you must simultaneously press both the left and right
button to Quit. You can still use the
Array images created before VESAVIEW version 4.0 will not allow
graphic file selection. Version 4.0 and above creates an additional
index file for each array image you create. This file will have the
same filename as your array image but with an extension of .VNX .
If this files does not exist in the same directory as your array image
file, you will not be able to use the array image as a graphic menu,
but you can still view it as a normal image. The index file is very
small, and unlike other graphic packages which allow graphical
selection of images from the screen, VESAVIEW does not require
separate THUMBNAIL files for each image which saves considerable time
and disk space. As of version 4.3, the array image together with its
index file may be stored (or saved) on a Disk/Directory that is
different from the location of the images in the array. This will
allow users to catalog images from CDROMs (which can't be written to)
etc. VESAVIEW assumes that if your array images have nested arrays,
all of these arrays are located in the same directory, but each of the
array's images can be located on different Disk/Directories if needed.
The index file stores the Disk & Directory of the images in the array.
NOTE: If you ever move your images from where the array was initially
created, you will either need to re-catalog them or use a text editor
to change the path (first entry) in the .VNX file. To make the index
file downward compatable with versions prior to 4.3, the program will
accept index files that didn't store the images path in them as the
first entry.
Up to six levels of array menus can be used (nested). For example,
you could have one array image that had other array images in it. One
idea would be to have individual array images for BMPs, GIFs, JPGs,
PCXs and TGAs. Then have a master array image which would include the
BMP, GIF, JPG, PCX and TGA arrays. While an array image is
displayed, selecting another array image from it will pull up that new
array menu and so on. If you have displayed an image out of a sub-
level array menu, the
the previously displayed array menu. (remember that if you are
displaying an array file, you must use both the left and right mouse
button together to return to previous image).
If you need to add or delete an image from the array image, you will
need to re-create it. New array images can only be created from the
Text directory listing.
Additional Keys available while displaying an array image:
M1 (left mouse button) Used to start displaying a single or
marked multiple images
M2 (right mouse button) Used to Mark or Unmark files
M1 & M2 (together) Used to Quit from an array image
(See 'SPECIAL KEYS WHILE VIEWING' later for standard keys available)
Warning: You cannot have different array files with the same filename
and different extensions in the same directory since each file will
use the extension .VNX for its index file. Ex: You cannot have
DIR01.GIF and DIR01.BMP array files in the same directory since the
program would not know which one the index file DIR01.VNX should be
associated with.
VIEWING GIF89A FILES - Special Case:
If you are viewing a single GIF89A file, most of the 89A extensions
will be processed including multiple images, plain text and control
blocks. Comments will not be displayed. Because of the way VESAVIEW
reads images into Extended memory before displaying them, the plain
text will only be displayed on the screen (not XMEM). This will
prevent the printing of the text since printing is done from what is
in Extended memory. One way around this, if your screen has enough
resolution to display the entire file, is to save your screen out to
another file with
that the save commands will only save out what is on the screen after
all of the 89A extensions are processed. If the extensions include
delays between images, or require the user to
program will continue after 15 seconds maximum so that slide shows
will not be put in a wait state looking for user input.
If you are viewing arrays which include GIF89A files, the extensions
will be processed entirely in XMEM before displaying them in the
array. No text extensions will be displayed (they would probably be
too small to read anyway). Delays between GIF89A extensions are not
processed when displaying array images for increased speed.
VIEWING HPG or PLT FILES:
To view a plot file created in a HPGL format, move the cursor to the
filename and press
Mode you wish to use. The program will try and determine the size of
plot from the plot file header, but some CADD packages don't supply
this info in which case the program will assume a "C size". The HPGL
codes for Plot Sizes are:
PS4 = 'A' size
PS0 = 'B' size
PS1 = 'C' size
Choosing a display mode of FIT, 2X or 4X will speed up the drawing
process but the resolution of the image will be diminished. As the
image is decoded, you will see it being drawn in a preview mode at
screen size. After the image is complete, pressing any key will swap
you to the actual image as stored in Extended memory for panning
around in. Pressing
being decoded will abort it.
Currently supported HPGL commands are: PU,PD,PA,PR,PS,IP,SC,SP, CI
and AA
Even though the LB,SI,SR,DF,DI & DR commands are parsed and used to
display the image on the initial preview screen, they are not
supported as the drawing is being created in Extended memory. This
won't usually pose a problem since this program was designed to view
HPGL files created by CADD programs and most of those programs
represent Text etc. as vector elements.
WARNING: Only plot files which were created as C size or smaller
should be viewed, since the program does no checking for elements
which could be drawn 'off' the page if too big. This check was
omitted to speed up the drawing.
VIEWING ASCII FILES:
To view a single ASCII file on your screen, just select it as with any
other filetype. The file will be displayed in a text window. The
following file extensions are recognized as ASCII files - .1ST, .ANS,
.ASC, .ASM, .BAT, .C, .DIZ, .DOC, .H, .LIS, .ME, .TXT and .VNX. You
may use the following keys while viewing an ASCII file:
Pan Up a Line - UP ARROW or RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON
Pan Down a Line - DOWN ARROW or LEFT MOUSE BUTTON
Pan Up a Page - PAGE UP
Pan Down a Page - PAGE DN
Abort - ESC or Both LEFT & RIGHT MOUSE BUTTONS
simultaneously
NOTE: ASCII files cannot be viewed from a graphics menu or in a slide
show. Only the first 2000 lines of a file will be displayable. The
entire file is not stored in memory but accessed from the disk drive
as needed.
DELETING FILES:
While the file list is displayed on your screen, you may delete a file
by moving the cursor to it and pressing
delete multiple files, mark them with the
button) and then press
deletion.
SEARCHING FILENAMES:
While the file list is displayed on your screen, you may select files
by searching their filenames for a specific string. Press
point to SEARCH with mouse) and keyin the search string. The file
will be selected if it contains the exact string anywhere in its
filename. Don't use the wildcard characters * or ? since they will
be search for literally.
SPECIAL KEYS WHILE VIEWING:
While viewing images in a VESA mode (other than arrays):
F1/F2 Increase/Decrease RED
F3/F4 Increase/Decrease GREEN
F5/F6 Increase/Decrease BLUE
F7/F8 Increase/Decrease RED
F9/F10 Increase/Decrease RED
ALT F9 Change to Gray tones
ALT F10 Restore original palette
B Create a BMP file (256 c) of screen contents
C Crop an image and save as BMP, GIF, JPG or PCX file
G Create a GIF file (256 c) of screen contents
H or ? Graphics Help
J Create a JPG file (24 bit) of screen contents
P Send XMEM contents to printer as B&W or Color image
S Scale XMEM contents to screen and save as BMP, GIF,
JPG or PCX file
V Display the current VGA palette
Z Create a PCX file (256 c) of screen contents
+ Zoom in (change VESA resolution to next lower mode)
- Zoom out (change VESA resolution to next higher mode)
NOTE: Mode 100 (640x400) is skipped when using +/- above.
While viewing an array (one about to be saved, not a previously saved
one):
B Create a BMP file (256 c) of screen contents
C Crop an image and create a BMP, GIF, JPG or PCX file
G Create a GIF file (256 c) of screen contents
J Create a JPG file (24 bit) of screen contents
Z Create a PCX file (256 c) of screen contents
While viewing IMG or HPGL files in a B & W mode:
P Send XMEM contents to printer as B&W image
I Create an IMG file (2 c) of entire XMEM contents. The 'I'
option may also be used if you are viewing an IMG or HPGL
file in a color VESA mode.
Z Create a PCX (2 c) file of entire XMEM contents.
In both Color and B & W modes you may pan screen with:
(make sure the NUMLOCK key is on to use keypad)
HOME Top left of image
END Bottom right of image
Page Up Move up approx. 1 inch
Page Dn Move down approx. 1 inch
ESC Return to File Selection Menu
The arrow keys on either numeric keypad or separate arrow keypad pan
the image approx. 1/4 inch in that direction. In addition, on the
numeric keypad, the 1,3,7 & 9 keys pan the image diagonally and the
5 pans to center of image.
Use the Control key with left or right arrows to pan 1 inch to the
left or right.
SAVING SCREEN AS a BMP, GIF or PCX FILE:
While viewing an image in a VESA mode, pressing will save the
current screen (not necessarily everything in Extended memory) to a
BMP file with the filename of your choosing. Pressing
to a GIF file. Pressing
will come from the mode you are currently viewing the image in or the
cropped size that you used. The color table written to file will
reflect any adjustments you've made with the Function keys. When
keying in the filename, if you don't include the period or extension,
the program will append the correct extension to your keyin. If you
keyin the extension with your filename, the program will use that
instead, but make sure you keyin the appropriate extension since the
extension is how the program determines the file type to display! You
may precede the filename with a Disk & Directory if you don't want to
use the current Disk/Dir.
SAVING SCREEN AS a JPG FILE:
JPEG is a standardized compression method for full-color (24 bit) and
grayscale images. JPEG is a lossy type of compression, meaning that
the output image is not necessarily identical to the input image.
This software implements JPEG baseline and extended-sequential
compression processes and the file format used is called JFIF. This
format has been agreed to by a number of major commercial JPEG vendors
and probably will become the de facto standard. Some commercial JPEG
implementations are incompatible, especially if they were written
before the summer of 1991. Some other shareware JPEG program's output
will only work if they have the option of outputing as JFIF standard
files.
The procedure for saving the current screen to a JPG file is the same
as for saving to a GIF, BMP or PCX (see above section), except that
an extra question is asked after you key in the filename. You will
need to enter a JPEG quality factor ranging from 25 to 95. The
default if you just press
result in larger files and less loss of image quality. A lower
quality factor will result in smaller files with more loss of image
quality.
It is not recommended to save array images as JPG files if they will
be used as graphic menus, since they will take considerably longer to
decode.
CROPPING SCREEN & SAVING AS a BMP, GIF, JPG or PCX FILE:
If you press
saving as a BMP, GIF, JPG or PCX file. You will see a box drawn
around your screen image when you first press
move the TopLeft corner of box. Press to move the BottomRight
corner. Use the arrow keys to move a single pixel at a time, or
PageUp, PageDown,
pixels at a time.
Topleft of screen.
Bottomright of screen.
screen save. You will be prompted whether to save as a BMP, GIF, JPG
or PCX file. See 'Using a Mouse' below.
SCALING XMEM CONTENTS TO SCREEN & SAVING:
If you press
to your screen. You will see a box drawn around your screen when you
first press
entire image will be fitted to your screen at the current VESA
resolution. Use the arrow keys etc. (like in cropping above) to move
the lower right corner of box. Scaling always occurs about the upper
left corner of image, so you can't move this point.
and a
SAVING XMEM CONTENTS AS an IMG or PCX FILE:
While viewing a 2 color Black/White image (either IMG, 2-color PCX or
HPGL files), pressing an will save the entire eXtended memory
contents to a IMG file, or pressing
file. You will have the opportunity to reverse the image before
saving. It doesn't matter whether you are viewing the image in a
color VESA mode or one of the Black & White modes in order to save
with the mode, as long as the original image was actually a 2
color image. Currently, there is not a cropping option before saving
as a IMG file. However, if you are viewing the 2-color image in a
color VESA mode, you could save out as a cropped BMP, GIF, JPG or PCX
file.
PRINTING IMAGES:
Before displaying an image that you will be printing, you should pull
up the Printer Setup Menu and Printer Model Menu (submenus of OPTS
menu) and make any necessary changes to model, style, size, margins,
rotation and gamma etc. After an image is displayed, any adjustments
to color/brightness/contrast will be reflected in your print. The
gamma value (see description of /PGn qualifier above) is a good tool
to use if adjustment to brightness is needed for printouts. The
maximum size of image is limited only by the amount of free XMEM you
have. The maximum size of print is 10.5 x 8.0 inches on most
printers. On the DeskJet 550C printer, note that you can't print on
the bottom 1/2" of page, so if you are centering your print, the
maximum length can't be greater than 10.0", but if you set your Top
Margin to the minimum of 0.05", you can squeeze in about 10.4".
If you want to print multiple images, select them from the file list
with the
press
(or point to PLOT with mouse). Each file will be displayed will will create a Black & White print. key, otherwise the printer may lose some of the data or lock up
on screen and automatically plotted until the last one is processed.
NOTE that all of the plots will use the same size, rotation,
justification etc. from the plotting options menu. Pressing
right mouse button) will abort the plotting. NOTE: This option is
only available in Registered Versions.
While a color image file is displayed on the screen, pressing
create a print on your active printer in the current print style. The
fastest print style is the halftoning process. The scatter style will
produce a better quality print in most cases, but will take longer to
process. You may cancel the plot by pressing
button) during the plot. The port defaults to LPT1 unless you
specified a command line argument of /P2 or /PF when starting the
program. The actual plot will be of your entire image (stored in
extended memory) and not just what you may be viewing on your screen.
While viewing a 2-color (black & white) file or HPGL (.PLT or .HPG),
pressing
See description of /FB, /FW & /FN above to preserve image context when
your print is being scaled down from the original size. You can use
any of the printer qualifiers (available as command line qualifiers
or from the Printer Menu within program) to change the defaults for
Printer Port, Printer Type, Resolution, Rotation Angle, Width and Top
& Left Margins.
If you select a Print Width greater than 8.5", the program will
automatically rotate print 90 degrees (unless 270 was already
selected). The program will beep if you try to use an invalid
combination of size, rotation angle, margins or resolution.
MOUSE USE:
In most cases where the keypad is used to move the text cursor, a
MicroSoft compatible mouse can also be used. You must install any
required mouse drivers before running VESAVIEW.
The Left button is used just like the
display one image. It is also used to select choices from pop-up
menus, to select commands at the bottom of screen and to select the
PageUp and PageDown icons from the vertical bar on the right side of
screen.
The Right button is used just like the
abort displays and menus. It is also used to mark files for use in
arrays or for displaying them as slides (like the
If a large image has been displayed in one of the 256 color VESA
modes, holding down the Left mouse button will display a panning icon
on your screen. The green box represents your entire image size and
the red box represents your screen size. While holding down the Left
button, move the mouse and the red box will pan around with the green
box. When you let go of the button, the screen with be moved to
reflect your new window area. This mode of panning is much quicker
than using the arrow keys, although you will probably use the arrow
keys for fine tuning the pan. If a double-beep is heard when trying
to use this feature, your image is probably smaller than your screen
and no panning is possible.
When Cropping an image, the Left mouse button will move the upper left
corner of the cropping box and the Right mouse button will move the
lower right corner of box. Pressing both the Left and Right buttons
simultaneously will start the save (like pressing
works the same except the Left mouse button is not used (can't move
the upper left corner of scaling box).
RUNNING Under WINDOWS 3.1:
VESAVIEW can be run in a Full Screen mode from Windows 3.1. Because
of the way Windows 3.1 allocates memory, it is suggested that you use
a .PIF file to run VESAVIEW. The following are recommended settings
for the PIF file when running under Windows:
Program Item Properties
Description: VesaView
Command Line: VESAVIEW.PIF
Working Directory: C:\GIF <-- Path of initial image directory
Shortcut Key: None
(NOTE: You can use the ICON that is delivered with VESAVIEW or
your own. The supplied icon is in the file VESAVIEW.ICO.)
Use the following for 386 ENHANCED MODE -
PIF EDITOR - VESAVIEW.PIF
Program Filename: C:\VV\VESAVIEW.EXE <-- Path of VESAVIEW.EXE
Window Title: VesaView
Optional Parameters: /AW /AM103 /PTDJ /AS <-- Modify these as needed
Start-up Directory:
Video Memory: _ Text _ Low Graphics X High Graphics
Memory Requiremts: KB Required -1 KB Desired -1
EMS Memory: KB Required 0 KB Limit 1024
XMS Memory: KB Required 1024 KB Limit -1
Display Usage: X Full Screen Execution: _ Background
_ Windowed X Exclusive
X Close Window on Exit
PIF EDITOR - Advanced Options
Background Priority: 50 Foreground Priority: 100
X Detect Idle Time
Memory Options:
_ EMS Memory Locked X XMS Memory Locked
_ Uses High Memory Area X Lock Application Memory
Display Options:
X Text _ Low Graphics X High Graphics
X Emulate Text Mode X Retain Video Memory
Other Options: (leave as default)
Use the following for STANDARD MODE -
PIF EDITOR - VESAVIEW.PIF
Program Filename: C:\VV\VESAVIEW.EXE <-- Path of VESAVIEW.EXE
Window Title: VesaView
Optional Parameters: /AW /AM103 /PTDJ /AS <-- Modify these as needed
Start-up Directory:
Video Memory: _ Text X Graphics/Multiple Text
Memory Requiremts: KB Required -1
XMS Memory: KB Required 1024 KB Limit -1
Direct Modifiers: _ COM1 _ COM3 _ Keyboard
_ COM2 _ COM4
_ No Screen Exchange _ Prevent Program Switch
X Close Window on Exit _ No Save Screen
CAUTIONS:
The array used to store the files in current directory is limited to
999 files. More files than this will just be truncated from directory
listing.
The program determines the type of file to display by the extension
used on the filename. Supported extensions are BMP, GIF, IMG, JPG,
PCX, TGA, TIF, HPG and PLT. Any other extensions are ignored.
Incorrect extensions may cause program to hang (ie. Don't name a PCX
file with a GIF extension).
Even though your VESA driver thinks it supports some of the higher
resolution modes, your hardware may not have the required memory to
do so. Therefore, you need to lockout these modes from the program
with the /LOmode command line switch. If you don't lock out these
modes, the program may hang and you'll have to do the 3 finger trick
().
When printing, make sure your printer is online before pressing the
the program.
HINTS:
When creating arrays of images that include 24 bit files, you may want
to toggle the 24 bit palette option to STANDARD to speed up the
processing. The color detail will not be too apparent at this small
scale.
To create and save a slide show sequence, just create an array image
and save it. The images on the array will be arranged in the order
in which they were selected originally. All you need to do to play
the slide show is pull up that array image, press 'M' to mark all
files, and then press the left mouse button to start the show. You
should set the delay and fade before pulling up the array if desired.
It is suggested that you prefix your array filenames with a 0 (zero)
so that they will be alphabetized at the beginning of the directory
listing for easier location. (Ex. 0DIR01.GIF, 0DIR02.GIF etc).
If you will be using your array images as graphic menus for file
selection, a lower resolution array image will update on the screen
faster. Even if you have just a few images to catalog, by placing
them in a larger format array image (ie. You have only 9 images to
catalog but create a 6 x 6 array image), the screen will be able to
recall this array as a menu much faster than creating it in a 3 x 3
array image. This is due to the greater compression of large areas
of blank space on the screen.
If you don't have a mouse, the graphic arrays you create can't be used
graphic menus. You will need to manually delete the .VNX file for the
array file so that the system will think the array file is just an
ordinary image.
If you are using a printer supported by the DOS GRAPHICS command, you
can get a quick print of a Black & White screen by using the GRAPHICS
command before running VESAVIEW. Version 5.0 of DOS supports the
DeskJet & LaserJets and the syntax would be:
GRAPHICS DESKJET /r (the /r will reverse black & white)
Use
initiate the print.
If you are printing to a color printer and you need to lighten up your
print, try increasing the Gamma value instead of the brightness. This
will lighten up the lower intensities and leave the higher intensities
as they are.
Besides using the SCALE option, there is a trick you can use to scale
down an image by 1/2,1/3,1/4...1/9. Mark just one image and display
it as an array. Select the Array Size according to the scale factor
you wish to use. (The color table used to display a single image as
an array will be the true color table of that image and not the
standard palette). After the image is displayed, use the CROP feature
to save the area you desire as a color image. Note that when a single
array image is displayed, the background color and text colors will
change according to the color table of the single image being
displayed.
If you need a VESA driver for your graphics card, login to Compuserve
and go to the IBMPRO forum (GO VESA). In Lib #12 (Vesa), you will
find VESA drivers for almost any card.
If you are not sure what graphics card you have in your machine, there
is a great little program in the GRAPHSUPPORT forum on Compuserve (GO
PICS). In Lib #14 (Misc Util & Code) download VDEOID.EXE. This
program will try and determine the card manufacturer & memory on it.
CARDS TESTED:
This program has been tested on the following computers and graphics
cards:
DELL 325D - Using built-in Paradise card
DELL 325D - Using a CompuAdd Hi-rez card
DELL 433D - Using Trident 8900 card
DELL 433P - Using built-in Paradise card
DELL 433P - Using a Video-7 VRAM II card
DELL 486D/50 - Using built-in Paradise card
DELL 486D/66 - Using built-in Paradise card & ATI Ultra card
NEC 386SX - Using a CompuAdd Hi-rez card
AST 286/386 Premium - Using Orchid Designer Pro card
AST 286/386 Premium - Using Diamond Stealth card (has built in VESA
Bios on card)
IBM 286 AT - Using a Paradise VGA Plus
IBM 286 AT - Using an ATI Wonder card & ATI Vantage
GATEWAY 2000 486/33 - Using an ATI Ultra card
DEC PC 486 - Using built-in graphics card
SUPPORT:
If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, please leave me
a message in the GRAPHSUPPORT forum (GO PICS) on Compuserve. My CIS
ID number is 71170,2340. The current shareware version of VESAVIEW
will always be posted in the LIB #3 (Decoders & Encoders) of the
GRAPHSUPPORT forum on Compuserve. It can also be found on the Blue
Ridge Express Bulletin Board (804)-790-1675. The Zipped archival of
VESAVIEW will usually be named VESAVW.ZIP or VESAVWxx.ZIP where xx
is the version number. If you can't find it by filename, try
searching for the keywords VESA and HPGL. You can also reach me at
the P. O. Box listed in the Registration section.
REVISION HISTORY:
v1.0 - v1.9 Developmental versions
v2.0 (4/03/92) First release to the Public as Shareware
v2.1 (4/10/92) Changed algorithm used for arrays color palette. Now
uses color dithering for much more accurate color
reproduction.
v2.2 (4/21/92) Added new option to Automatically generate multiple
pages of array images and save them to GIF files
without user intervention. Also added a Scaling
option.
v2.3 (4/27/92) Fixed a minor bug while displaying multiple pages of
arrays.
v2.4 (6/05/92) Changed GIF decoder so that files which do not follow
the standard of setting byte 13 of header as a zero
are decoded anyway.
v2.5 (7/6/92) Added saving as PCX files (both 2 & 256 color).
Added cmd line qualifiers /FN, /FB & /FW so that
scaling of B&W images could retain more info of
the original. Can now read in Windows 3.X .BMP
files (256 color). Added ability to select files
for display with a search string. Added AA
(absolute arc) & CI (circle) cmds to HPGL module
& fixed minor bug in display size.
v2.6 (7/16/92) Added decoding of TIF (2 color) files and fixed bug
with Filename Search option. Only decodes
non-compressed and run-length encoded TIFs.
v2.7 (10/9/92) Added decoding of 24 bit PCX & BMP files and decoding
of 16, 24 & 32 bit TGA (Targa) files. Added ability
to change command line options from within the program
from a menu.
v2.8(11/20/92) Added qualifier to disable beep after displaying
images. Added print enhancements: Color printing to HP
PaintJet, PaintJet XL, PaintJet XL300, DeskJet 500C &
DeskJet 550C. REGISTERED VERSION ONLY: Added ability
to select plot size, rotation angle, resolution, gamma
correction and page placement. Data can now be
compressed before sending to printer to reduce size
and speedup printing.
V2.9 (12/9/92) Added qualifier (/COD) to optimize color palette and
dither the image when 16, 24 or 32 bit bit images are
read in. Fixed a bug which wouldn't allow an array of
images to be saved as a GIF file if no GIF file was
displayed in the array.
V3.0(12/14/92) Added new B & W Scatter print style and Color Halftone
print style. Also added qualifiers for these styles
(/PSBH, /PSBS, /PSCH & /PSCS). Added /FTMn (fixed top
margin).
V3.1 (1/11/93) Changed halftone printing pixels from 4 bits to 5 bits
to allow more shades. Added saving as a Windows BMP
(256c). Arrays can now be saved as either GIF, BMP or
PCX files. The screen is now erased around a cropped
area before saving for easier viewing.
V3.2 (1/22/93) Added support for 16 color PCX, BMP & GIF files.
Added support for 256 color (8 bit) TGA files. Saving
of images or arrays is now 3-4 times faster.
V3.3 (2/2/93) Added support for 16 and 256 color TIF files.
Added ability to use 320x200x256 & 640x480x2
modes without requiring a VESA driver. These
modes do not allow array generation. Added
panning with window icon for B&W display modes.
Added qualifiers /PXSn & /PYSn to allow slight
adjustment of X & Y scales when plotting HPGL &
2-color files. Fixed bug where multiple image
GIFs would hang. Now, only the 1st image of
these multi-image GIFs is displayed.
V3.4 (2/9/93) Added support for GIF89A files by completely
rewriting the GIF decoder module. Multiple files
can now be selected for automated plotting (only
available in Registered Version). File directory
is now sorted vertically instead of horizontally
for easier viewing. Zooming (changing
resolution) is now possible while viewing in a
VESA mode with the +- keys.
V3.5 (2/26/93) Fixed bug with vertical directory listing which caused
incorrect scrolling.
V3.6 (3/18/93) Added cmd qualifiers /UPSA, /UPSB & /UPSC so user
could select a default plot size if the .PLT file did
not have an embedded PS cmd to signify what plot size
to use.
V3.7 (4/12/93) Added printer output to a file option (from menu or
new /PF qualifier). Added support for 24 TIF and 32
bit TGA files.
V4.0 (4/20/93) Images can now be graphically selected for display or
printing from previously created array images. These
previously created arrays images act as graphic
directory menus. Also, a help menu is now available
while displaying graphics.
V4.1 (5/14/93) Program now checks for sufficient disk space before
writing out files. When keying in a filename, you
don't have to include the extension (ex: .GIF)
anymore. If your keyin doesn't contain a period, the
appropriate extension will automatically be appended
to your keyin.
V4.2 (5/18/93) If you have enough XMEM, the first graphic array menu
you select will be stored in memory, so that returning
to that menu screen will be instantaneous instead of
having to re-read in the file on each return. This can
be overridden with the /NLAM qualifier. Added a new
Printer Model submenu to the Options Menu.
V4.3 (6/11/93) Added capability to put an array image and its index
file on a different disk/directory than its images are
on. This allows cataloging of images on a CDROM etc.
Image sizes can now be displayed on the images of an
array if you use the qualifier /AS (array sizes).
Some changes in the way stack memory was allocated
were made to hopefully alleviate some users memory
restraint problems.
V4.4 (7/2/93) Added a fade in/out of images when displaying a
slide show. This is done with new qualifier /Fx
or from Options Menu. The order in which files
are selected is now used when displaying or
creating arrays of them. The sequence numbers
are shown on the text directory listing. A
filename mask option has been added. The new
qualifier /Mxxx sets the mask to use. Enhanced
error checking when printing to prevent hangups
when user input print sizes & margins were
invalid.
V4.5 (7/21/93) Added the reading and saving of 24 bit and grayscale
JPEG files (.JPG). Added a progress bar when reading
in files from the graphics menu to prevent boredom.
V4.6 (7/26/93) Fixed problem where extremely long paths in filenames
would abort program.
V4.7 (7/30/93) Fixed bug with reading in 16 bit Targa files. Changed
algorithm for calculating HPGL plot scale for
different Page Sizes. Fixed sorting of directory when
using Auto Array Generation. Changed maximum entries
per directory from 500 to 999.
V4.8 (8/10/93) Added more error trapping for critical hardware errors
(such as CDrom write errors, etc), and changed the
initial VESAVIEW Logo.
V4.9 (8/22/93) Added ability to display an ASCII file on screen.
Added Disk Drives to the directory listing.
v5.0 (9/9/93) Added ability to create an array image (menu) of up to
12 x 12 images (144 total) per page if the resolution
you select is high enough for the filenames to display
above images. Added check for free diskspace when
auto-generating arrays. Fixed bug which caused hangups
when displaying long JPEG error messages. Made keyin
field larger for filename of auto-generated arrays.
Directory listing now returns as it was bracketed on the
screen after viewing images etc. instead of resetting to
display file number 1. New qualifier /IDx to override the
embedded drive letter in index (.VNX) files. Trailing
backslashes when entering a new path are now
tolerated. Removed now unnecessary qualifiers /PYS
and /PXS. Added new registration procedure using a
username/access code combination.