DropCloth Version 2.4 By Eric Lavitsky 29-February-1988 (C) 1987, 1988 by Eric Lavitsky DropCloth lets you place a pattern, a 2 bitplane IFF image or a combination of a pattern and image into your Amiga's WorkBench backdrop. If you are using ARC to unpack DropCloth, please do the following from the CLI: 1> execute execute.me this will rename all of the files in the archive to their proper names. To use DropCloth from the CLI, type: 1>dropcloth [-d number] [-i filename [-c]] where "number" is between 0 and 64 inclusive, and "filename" is a valid IFF image file. The number after '-d' specifies the intensity of the pattern used for the backdrop, 0 will render a clear pattern into the display, while 64 will render a solid backdrop. If you don't specify a pattern, DropCloth will default to 0, a clear pattern. The '-c' switch causes DropCloth to temporarily set the WorkBench colors to those contained in the IFF image file. The Preferences colors will be restored upon exitting DropCloth. To remove DropCloth and any pattern or image it has rendered into the backdrop, simply run DropCloth a second time. It is generally recommended that DropCloth be "RUN" or "RUNBACKED" from the CLI. To use DropCloth from the WorkBench: Double click directly on the DropCloth Icon or Double click on an IFF image Icon whose default tool points to DropCloth. The image must be an IFF image (ILBM). Change it's default tool to point to DropCloth. Assuming DropCloth resides in the C: directory, select the image icon and then select "Info" from the WorkBench menu. The next to last field in the Icon is the default tool: ____________________________ DEFAULT TOOL | C:DropCloth | ---------------------------- If your image does not have an Icon, you may create an Icon for it by copying one of the Icons normally created by DPaint. If you want DropCloth to render a pattern, specify the pattern you want in the ToolTypes of the DropCloth Icon (if you are rendering a pattern only) or in the ToolTypes of the image Icon (if you are rendering an image along with a pattern). Again, select the Icon in question, pull down "Info" from the WorkBench menu, go down to the ToolTypes field, select "ADD", click in the ToolTypes text gadget and enter: _________________________________ |PATTERN=n | --------------------------------- where n is again a number between 0 and 64 inclusive. If you wish DropCloth to change the WorkBench colors to those contained in the IFF image, add another ToolType that looks like the following: _________________________________ |USECOLORS=YES | --------------------------------- To remove dropcloth and any pattern or image it has rendered into the WorkBench backdrop, simply run DropCloth a second time by double clicking on it's Icon. - Features and Limitations - Current version will accept any size image - patterns work fine in any size screen including "morerowed" (overscan) screens. - Please note that DropCloth works best with images that have had their colors set to look right with 4 colors (2 bitplanes). I would suggest looking at PixMate from Progressive Peripherals and Software for modifying the colors of your IFF images. - The fuel gauge in main disk windows is not properly refreshed by RefreshWindowFrame() ... (sigh) - Requires V1.2 or greater of KickStart to run - Future considerations - We could give an option to add bitplanes to the workbench screen for images > 2 bitplanes or try and map colors to 2 bitplanes. This would slow things down and eat lots of CHIP memory (ugh!). - Allow the user to select the pen number used to render the backdrop pattern. - V 2.4 Additions - Temporarily change WorkBench colors to that of the image being rendered and restore the old colors upon exit. - V 2.3 Fixes - Fixed bug where disk icons weren't correctly refreshed when no pattern was selected to be rendered. - Garbage is no longer rendered into the display when a picture of resolution lower than the WorkBench screen is rendered. GENERAL INFO - How it started - When I first got my Amiga way back in August '85, I was dissapointed to find that I couldn't put an image or pattern in my backdrop like we could on the AI workstations and Macintoshes at Rutgers. - One day, someone posted on the net that at a gathering in the Apple Computer cafeteria one day, Andy Hertzfeld, of Macintosh design team fame, was quoted as saying that the Amiga wasn't a serious machine: "C'mon, a user interface with windows the same color as the screen?!!!". I vowed that one day, I'd show him! :-) - DropCloth is the answer to Hertzfeld's shortsighted remark. Maybe one day, he'll realize what the Amiga is for it's true potential. Remember, the Workbench is just another application - it can be greatly enhanced or replaced (Can *you* say that about the Mac Finder?) - What it does - Things we had to realize about the workbench: - The Workbench renders it's icons into a backdrop borderless window. - When an icon is moved SetRast() is called to clear the layer and all the icons are redrawn. This is fairly fast, but destroys anything you render yourself into the backdrop. - So, get the source to see how it's done! (plug, plug :-) Thanks to: Perry Kivolowitz - Spurring me on, helping fix my bugs Jon Trudel - The DropCloth Icon Andy Hertzfeld - The original incentive Kim Devaughn, Rusty Haddock - Beta Testing Copyright and Shareware Notice: DropCloth is Copyright 1987, 1988 by Eric Lavitsky. DropCloth is a shareware product. If you feel this product enhances your environment, please send a contribution to: Eric Lavitsky 34 Maplehurst Ln. Piscatway, NJ 08854 Keep the shareware concept alive! Suggested donation is $10. Donations of $15 or more will yield a disk replete with the source code to the latest version of DropCloth. The source code was written using Manx Aztec C, V3.6a (Yes Jim, a plug! :-), remains proprietary to Eric Lavitsky and may not be redistributed or sold without the expressed written consent of Eric Lavitsky. The executable version of DropCloth and it's associated icons may be freely redistributed provided this document is included in the distribution.