E G A C O L O R I N G B O O K


REFERENCE MANUAL


Shareware Version 1.0












David C. Swope
3753 Tango Drive
North Bend, OH 45052












This manual and the EGA COLORING BOOK program are
(C) Copyright 1990 by David C. Swope
All rights reserved




------------------------- INTRODUCTION --------------------------

EGA COLORING BOOK is a computer coloring book. It allows
children to use over 500 colors and patterns to color the
pictures. Children, age 3 and up, will enjoy bringing the
pictures to life with color. Very young children will need adult
assistance to use this program.

EGA COLORING BOOK will only work on EGA or VGA equipped systems.
In addition, the display adapter must have at least 128K of
display memory. Use of a mouse input device is optional but
recommended.


---------------------------- LICENSE ----------------------------

EGA COLORING BOOK is NOT public domain or free software. This
program is distributed as "Shareware". EGA COLORING BOOK is (C)
Copyright 1990 by David C. Swope. All rights reserved.

The owner of EGA COLORING BOOK, David C. Swope, permits the
copying and transfer of the SHAREWARE VERSION of the EGA COLORING
BOOK program to others, under the following conditions:

1. No fee shall be charged for copies of any portion of the EGA
COLORING BOOK program, its documentation, or other information
contained on the EGA COLORING BOOK diskette. A charge for the
copying service and media is allowed as long as this charge
does not exceed $8.00.

2. The recipient receives an unmodified copy of all the EGA
COLORING BOOK files, including this document.

3. Any copy of EGA COLORING BOOK transferred to another may
contain only the seventeen files listed here: ECB.EXE,
ECBMAN.DOC, ECBTITLE.001, ECBTITLE.002, ECBFONT.000,
ECBCOLOR.DAT, ECBPALC1.DAT, ECBPALC2.DAT, ECBPALC3.DAT,
ECBPALC4.DAT, ECBPALC5.DAT, ECBPALT.DAT, JUNGLE.PIC,
SEASHORE.PIC, UNDERSEA.PIC, DUCKPOND.PIC and SHIP.PIC.
Additional files which are supplied to registered users may
not be transferred to others without the written consent of
the author.

Any copy of EGA COLORING BOOK sold or copied in such a manner as
to violate the above conditions shall be subject to a royalty fee
of $50.00.

The author encourages the copying and transfer of the program to
others so that it may be evaluated by as many interested users as
possible. After the evaluation period, it is expected that the
users either register their copy of the program or discontinue
using it.




------------------- REGISTRATION INFORMATION --------------------

The cost of user registration is $16.00. This registration fee
provides you with the following benefits:

1. It licenses you to operate the EGA COLORING BOOK program
on any computer at a single location. You may have
copies on more than one computer as long as there is no
possibility of it being used in more than one place at
the same time. You may make copies of the EGA COLORING BOOK
commercial version for backup purposes only.

2. It provides you with a set of 10 additional pictures to be
used with the EGA COLORING BOOK program. It will also
provide you with the commercial version 1.0 of EGA COLORING
BOOK.

3. It will put you on the mailing list to receive information
about additional picture sets and EGA COLORING BOOK updates
when they become available. The additional picture sets and
updates will only be available to registered users. They
will not be included in future shareware versions of the
program. It is planned to release the pictures in sets of 15
at a cost of $10.00 per set. Mailings will also inform you
when other programs by the author are released.

4. It will provide you with information on how to report
problems or get assistance from the author.

Educational institutions may reduce the registration fee to
$12.50 if five or more registrations are purchased. If more than
one registration is purchased then only one copy of EGA COLORING
BOOK will be mailed. The user may make the additional copies of
the EGA COLORING BOOK diskette. Students may be given copies of
the program for home use as long as the rules outlined in the
LICENSE section are followed. Remember that only the shareware
version may be copied and given to others.

I encourage you to support the "Shareware" method of software
distribution by becoming a registered user. Every registration
received will help convince the author to produce more pictures
and to enhance this program in other ways. A registration form
is provided at the end of this document.

Whether or not you decide to register your copy of the program,
the author would like to receive your comments and constructive
criticism on the program. These same comments will also be used
when designing other children's programs in the future.




-------------------------- DISCLAIMER ---------------------------

EGA COLORING BOOK is supplied as is. No representation of any
kind is made as to the use and/or suitability of this program for
any purpose. David C. Swope assumes no liability for any damages
direct or consequential, which may result from the use of this
program. The author of EGA COLORING BOOK reserves the right to
update the contents of the EGA COLORING BOOK program and its
associated documentation at his discretion and without the
consent of or any obligation to any registered users.


---------------------- REQUIRED EQUIPMENT ----------------------

EGA COLORING BOOK will run on most IBM or compatible computers
with EGA or VGA graphics capability (with 128K or more of video
memory), at least 256K of RAM (at least 199,900 bytes of free RAM
after DOS and all TSR programs are loaded), PC-DOS or MS-DOS 2.1
or greater and one disk drive. A hard disk and mouse are
optional. However, use of a mouse is recommended.

MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
PC-DOS is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation.


------------------------ GETTING STARTED ------------------------

Before attempting to use the EGA COLORING BOOK program, please
make a backup copy of the EGA COLORING BOOK diskette. Consult
your DOS manual for instructions on performing this procedure.
The EGA COLORING BOOK program will write color data files to the
current directory during operation. Therefore, be sure to keep a
backup copy of the original disk. Also, the disk that EGA
COLORING BOOK is being run from must not be write protected.

If your system includes a mouse input device, then the mouse
driver must be installed before the EGA COLORING BOOK program is
run. Consult your mouse user's guide for instructions on loading
the mouse driver.

EGA COLORING BOOK will only operate in one graphics mode:

640 X 350 16 colors VGA or EGA adapter.




In order to run the EGA COLORING BOOK program the picture and
support files must be in the current directory so they can be
used by the program. The necessary files are described below.

ECB.EXE The EGA COLORING BOOK program.

ECBMAN.DOC This document.

ECBTITLE.001 Title screen data.
ECBTITLE.002

ECBFONT.000 Graphics text font.

ECBCOLOR.DAT Palette data.
ECBPALC1.DAT
ECBPALC2.DAT
ECBPALC3.DAT
ECBPALC4.DAT
ECBPALC5.DAT
ECBPALT.DAT

JUNGLE.PIC Picture data.
SEASHORE.PIC
UNDERSEA.PIC
DUCKPOND.PIC
SHIP.PIC

The EGA COLORING BOOK program will create files with the same
names as the picture data files but with the extension "COL".
These files contain data which describes how you last colored the
picture. Since the EGA COLORING BOOK program writes these files,
the disk that you are running the program from must not be write
protected.

All but one of these files must be located in the same directory.
The file which is not needed is: ECBMAN.DOC.

To install the program on a hard disk, simply copy all needed
files (see above) to a single directory on the hard disk.

To run the program, set the current directory to the directory in
which the files are located. Type "ECB" (do not type the quote
characters), and press the key. After the program is
loaded, a title page will appear. When you are ready to begin
the program, press any key.




-------------- USING THE KEYBOARD MOUSE SIMULATOR ---------------

If your computer system does not include a mouse input device
then it will be necessary for you to read this section. If you
have a mouse then you can skip this section.

This section describes how to use the KEYBOARD MOUSE SIMULATOR to
imitate real mouse input. It does not describe how that input
affects the EGA COLORING BOOK program. Please refer to the USING
EGA COLORING BOOK section for that information.

If EGA COLORING BOOK does not detect the presence of a mouse
driver, then it will use the KEYBOARD MOUSE SIMULATOR. All mouse
functions needed by the program are provided by the simulator.

THE MOUSE CURSOR

The simulator's mouse cursor is an arrow. It is similar to the
real mouse cursor, but smaller. The cursor was made smaller to
provide for fast cursor movement.

MOVING THE MOUSE CURSOR

- move up. Remember that use of
- move down. these keys on the
- move left. numeric keypad will
- move right. require
- move up and left. to be turned off.
- move up and right.
- move down and right.
- move down and left.

Pressing these keys alone will cause the mouse cursor to move a
distance which corresponds to the current mouse movement
increment (this will be explained in a moment). If the
key is held and these keys are pressed, then the mouse cursor
will move one pixel in the selected direction. In addition, if
the key is held and the <5> key on the numeric keypad is
pressed, the mouse cursor will jump to the center of the screen.

The speed of mouse cursor movement is controlled by the current
mouse movement increment. Currently two speeds are provided. If
the "+" key is pressed, then the increment will be large and the
mouse cursor can be moved quickly. If the "-" key is pressed,
then the increment will be somewhat smaller causing the mouse
cursor to move more slowly. Typically, the user will toggle
between the two speeds depending on how far the mouse cursor must
be moved. Remember to use the key if small adjustments
to the mouse cursor position are required.

PRESSING THE MOUSE BUTTONS

The simulator imitates a two button mouse. To click the left
mouse button, press the key, the key or the
. To click the right mouse button, press the
key.




-------------------- USING EGA COLORING BOOK --------------------

EGA COLORING BOOK is very easy to use. Before we get into the
details, I would like to make some general comments about the
mouse cursor.

1. While you are moving aroung the screen, you will notice that
the mouse cursor will change depending on the current screen
location. It changes so that it will always point toward the
nearest corner of the screen. This allows you to easily point
to any screen location.

2. The mouse cursor hotspot is at the very tip of the arrow's
point. The hotspot is the actual screen position you are
clicking on when you press the left mouse button.

3. At some points in the program, the mouse cursor will be
restricted to a portion of the screen. This is true when
making a menu selection or a new picture selection.

4. The phrase "Click the left mouse button on the command target
..." means to move the mouse cursor so that the hotspot is
over the command target on the screen and then press and
release the left mouse button.

After starting the program and pressing a key at the title screen
prompt, EGA COLORING BOOK will display a picture. If this
picture has been previously colored, the program will use the
coloring data (stored in the .COL file) to recolor the picture.
When the recoloring step has been completed, the command entry
area (referred to as the CEA for the remainder of this document)
will be displayed over the left side of the picture.

THE COMMAND ENTRY AREA (CEA)

The CEA is a rectangular shaped box. The lower four fifths of
this area is dedicated to displaying the active color palette.
The top portion contains command targets. The available commands
are described below.

MOVING THE COMMAND ENTRY AREA

1. In the upper right corner of the command entry area is a
command target that has arrows pointing left and right.
Clicking the left mouse button on this command target will
move the CEA to the opposite side of the screen. This is
useful to move the CEA out of the way when coloring. Pressing
the key is a keyboard shortcut for this command.

2. Clicking the right mouse button at any time will toggle the
display of the CEA. If the CEA is currently displayed,
pressing the right mouse button will remove it from the
screen. If the CEA is not currently displayed, pressing the
right mouse button will put it back on the screen. This is
useful to completely remove the CEA when coloring areas that
extend behind the CEA or when you want to view your finished
picture. Pressing the key is a keyboard shortcut for
this command.

SELECTING THE ACTIVE COLOR PALETTE

Just above the display of the active color palette in the CEA are
five command targets that contain colors made of various
combinations of black and white. These command targets select
the active color palette. When the program begins running, the
default active color palette corresponds to the second command
target from the left. Clicking on these command targets will
change the active color palette and display the new set of colors
available in the bottom of the CEA. The keys through
are shortcuts for selecting the active color palette. The
key corresponds to the leftmost command target and the key
corresponds to the rightmost command target. Note that the
"solid" colors appear in all five color palettes. You will need
to experiment with these command targets until you become
familiar with the colors available in each palette.

SELECTING THE ACTIVE CRAYON COLOR

Clicking the left mouse button on the desired color in the active
color palette will make that color the active crayon color. The
active crayon color is indicated by a white outline around the
selected color's box in the active color palette display.

THE "OOPS" COMMAND

As you color the picture, EGA COLORING BOOK remembers how you
have colored it. It keeps a list of "color commands" in memory.
Clicking the left mouse button on the "OOPS" command target will
undo the last color command. This is useful if you accidentally
color an area that was previously colored. Clicking on the "OOPS"
command target will restore the area to its previous color. You
may use the "OOPS" command any number of times in a row. It will
always undo the last color command on the list and then remove
that command from the list. If the list is empty, then you will
hear the error beep and no action will be performed.

NOTE: If the CEA is on the screen when the "OOPS" command is
requested it will be removed before the color of the area
is restored. After the color of the area is restored, the
CEA will then be displayed again.

There are two shortcuts for the "OOPS" command. If you have a
three button mouse, clicking the middle button at any time has
the same effect as clicking the left mouse button on the "OOPS"
command target. Also, pressing the key is the keyboard
shortcut for this command. You may use these two shortcuts for
the "OOPS" command even if the CEA is currently not on the
screen.

THE "MENU" COMMAND

Clicking the left mouse button on the "MENU" command target will
cause the top portion of the CEA to be replaced with six new
command targets. The use of these command targets is explained
below. Pressing the key is the keyboard shortcut for this
command. You may use the keyboard shortcut to invoke the "MENU"
command even if the CEA is currently not on the screen.

THE "ERASE" COMMAND

Click the left mouse button on the "ERASE" command target if you
want to erase the colors from your picture. You may also invoke
the "ERASE" command by pressing the key on the keyboard.
Using the keyboard shortcut for this command will only work when
the "ERASE" command target is on the screen. In other words, you
must invoke the "MENU" command prior to requesting the "ERASE"
command. When this command is selected, you will be asked "Do
you really want to erase the picture?". If you want to continue
with the erasure then click the left mouse button on the "YES"
command target. Click the left mouse button on the "NO" command
target to abort the erase command. The keys and may be
used to indicate a yes or no response.

THE "QUIT" COMMAND

Click the left mouse button on the "QUIT" command target if you
want to quit the program. You may also invoke the "QUIT" command
by pressing the key on the keyboard. Using the keyboard
shortcut for this command will only work when the "QUIT" command
target is on the screen. In other words, you must invoke the
"MENU" command prior to requesting the "QUIT" command. When this
command is selected, you will be asked "Do you really want to
quit?". If you want to exit the program back to DOS then click
the left mouse button on the "YES" command target. Click the
left mouse button on the "NO" command target to abort the "QUIT"
command. The keys and may be used to indicate a yes or
no response.

THE "PICTURE" COMMAND

Click the left mouse button on the "PICTURE" command target if
you want to select a different picture to color. You may also
invoke the "PICTURE" command by pressing the

key on the
keyboard. Using the keyboard shortcut for this command will only
work when the "PICTURE" command target is on the screen. In
other words, you must invoke the "MENU" command prior to
requesting the "PICTURE" command. When this command is selected,
you will be presented with a list of pictures to pick from. The
desired picture can be selected by clicking the left mouse button
on the picture's command target or by pressing the key on the
keyboard that is indicated on the left side of the command target
(keys through ). The very last command target on the
bottom of the screen will be -NO CHANGE-. You should click the
left mouse button on this command target or press the key on
the keyboard if you change your mind and want to keep the same
picture you have been using. If there are more pictures
available than can fit on the screen (which will be the case if
you register!), then the second last command target will be
-MORE-. You can click the left mouse button on this command
target or press the key on the keyboard to provide a list of
more pictures to select from. If you select a new picture and
that picture has been previously colored, then EGA COLORING BOOK
will "recolor" the picture after it is loaded. You may then
erase the colors from the picture or continue coloring where you
left off last time.

THE "MODE" COMMAND

Click the left mouse button on the "MODE" command target if you
want to change the mode of the CEA display. You may also invoke
the "MODE" command by pressing the key on the keyboard. Using
the keyboard shortcut for this command will only work when the
"MODE" command target is on the screen. In other words, you must
invoke the "MENU" command prior to requesting the "MODE" command.
When this command is selected, you will be asked "Should the
palette disappear after a color selection?". If you would like
the CEA (including the color palette display) to disappear after
each color selection then click the left mouse button on the
"YES" command target. If you do not want the CEA to disappear
after a color selection then click the left mouse button on the
"NO" command target. The keys and may be used to
indicate a yes or no response. If you select the "YES" command
target, then the CEA will be removed from the display each time
you select a new color to use. When in this mode, either the
right mouse button or the key must be used to restore the
CEA to the screen in order to make a new color selection.

THE "RECOLOR" COMMAND

Click the left mouse button on the "RECOLOR" command target when
you would like the picture to be erased and recolored. You may
also invoke the "RECOLOR" command by pressing the key on the
keyboard. Using the keyboard shortcut for this command will only
work when the "RECOLOR" command target is on the screen. In
other words, you must invoke the "MENU" command prior to
requesting the "RECOLOR" command. This command was included for
two reasons. The first reason is that during the recoloring,
redundant color data is removed from the "color command" list.
The other reason is that my three year old daughter likes to
watch the "computer" color the picture. The EGA COLORING BOOK
may automatically execute this command if the color command list
becomes too large to fit in memory. This should only happen if
you color a lot of areas that have already been colored before.
If this should happen, the program will put a message on the
screen before it begins the "recoloring process". The message
will ask you to press a key when ready. After you press a key,
the program will begin the "recoloring process". The only
problem caused by recoloring is that the "OOPS" command will not
restore an area's previous color any longer (the area will be
colored white). This is because the "RECOLOR" command has
determined that the previous coloring of an area was redundant
and has removed it from the "color command" list. The "OOPS"
command will operate properly for any new "color commands" added
to the list after the recoloring process has completed.

THE "CANCEL" COMMAND

Click the left mouse button on the "CANCEL" command target if you
want to cancel the "MENU" command. You may also invoke the
"CANCEL" command by pressing the key on the keyboard. Using
the keyboard shortcut for this command will only work when the
"CANCEL" command target is on the screen. In other words, you
must have invoked the "MENU" command prior to requesting the
"CANCEL" command. When this command is selected, the "MENU"
command will be cancelled and the top portion of the CEA will be
restored.

COLORING THE PICTURE

Once you have selected the desired color, you can then "color" an
area of the picture. To color an area, simply move the mouse
cursor to point at the desired area and click the left mouse
button. You may color over an area that has already been
colored. If the mouse cursor is pointing at the outline of an
area (the black lines making up the picture) when the mouse
button is clicked, then you will hear the error beep and no
coloring will be done. Each time you color an area the "color
command" is added to the list in memory. Eventually, this list
may become full if you color a lot of areas that have already
been colored. Please see the description of the "RECOLOR"
command above for information about this situation.


---------------------------- SUMMARY ----------------------------

Happy coloring! Thank you very much for evaluating EGA COLORING
BOOK. I hope to hear from you soon.





EGA COLORING BOOK REGISTRATION FORM
(please print)

NAME _________________________________________________________

ADDRESS _________________________________________________________

CITY ________________________________ STATE ________________

ZIP ______________

TYPE OF COMPUTER (PC, XT, AT, etc.)

_________________________________________________________________

DISPLAY ADAPTER (VGA, EGA, etc.)

_________________________________________________________________

HOW DID YOU RECEIVE YOUR COPY OF EGA COLORING BOOK
(Friend, BBS, etc. - If BBS please indicate the name)

_________________________________________________________________


Unit
Qty Price Total

___ EGA COLORING BOOK registration(s) $16.00 _____________

If 3 1/2" disks are required
then add additional media cost $1.50 _____________

Outside US orders add
additional shipping cost $7.50 _____________


Ohio residents only - 5.5% sales tax _____________


Total _____________

All prices are in USA currency only.
Make checks payable to David C. Swope.

Please send this form and your registration fee to:

David C. Swope
3753 Tango Drive
North Bend, OH 45052

Please write comments or suggestions on the back of the
form. Thank you very much.