***************************************************************** MUNCH 1.1 Written in GFA BASIC v3.5 Copyright 1994 Vegard Hofs³y - SHAREWARE - ***************************************************************** Hardware required: ANY ATARI, ST HIGH RESOLUTION, MINIMUM 1M RAM 1.INTRODUCTION 2.OVERVIEW 3.MAIN MENU 4.PARAMETERS MENU 5.BLOCK MENU 6.FUN TOOL MENU 7.FILL TYPE MENU 8.TEXT MENU 9.FILL PATTERN MENU 10.SPECIAL MENU 11.EFFECTS MENU 12.LARGE PICTURES MENU 13.DESKTOP MENU 14.GRAPHS MENU 15.COPY MENU 16.HISTORY 17.THE FUTURE 1.INTRODUCTION--------------------------------------------------- 1.1.ABOUT MUNCH Munch was originally written as a diversion in a program designed to control your phone bill. Eventually it took over, -and the phone part went out the window... Why a MONO paint program, when there are so many colors to explore? Well, Munch is designed with Desktop Publishing users in mind. Since most DTP output will be copied/printed in mono anyway, why use a color paint program? Another use for a mono paint program is programming. The easiest way to make your program resolution independent is to use mono graphics and transform it as it is blitted to the screen. The third reason is that I do not have a color monitor... I have tried to make Munch better and more user friendly than any other mono paint program for the ST. Better by making sure Munch has got all the tools you need, and then some (plus the effects), and more user friendly by including extensive on- line help and understandable icons. Wether I have succeded or not, you may decide. If you think I have, then you should register Munch with me. You will get an unrestricted version plus three bonus programs available only to registered users. This will also entitle you to upgrades at self-cost (postage & diskette). 1.2.SHAREWARE, COPYRIGHT & REGISTRATION Munch 1.1 is SHAREWARE. This means that the restricted unregistered version of the program can be freely distributed. However, the following conditions must be met: All files shoud be included and unaltered. No more than a nominal PD fee should be paid for a disk containing Munch. Magazines are free to distribute Munch on their cover-disks, but should include printed registration details. The copyright remains with the author. The registered version is NOT to be distributed. Registered users will recieve three related programs available to registered users only: BITMAP VOYEUR - a script based slideshow for mono monitors. Up to 999 pictures in the script, and many different wipes. SPRITE EDITOR - desk accessory or program for designing sprites, mousepointers, fillpatterns or icons for Harleqin®s Manager module. Can communicate with Munch when used as a desk accessory. M.E.C.S.- Munch Effect Construction Set lets you create effects for use in Munch. It is easy to use, and a great learning tool if you want to experiment with ST graphics. Also, updates to Munch and/or these three programs are free to registered users, only postage must be paid. See 17.THE FUTURE for my plans regarding updates. There are three ways to register, either by bank, post giro, or credit card card. For details and pricing, see the READ_ME.TXT document 2.OVERVIEW------------------------------------------------------- 2.1.MENUS All menus are explained under their separate headings, but they all have some common traits. To exit from a menu, click the right mousebutton. A button that inverts as you pass the mouse pointer over it either leads to immediate action, or to another (sub-)menu. The help function is active on all menus. 2.2.DRAWING There are lots of tools in Munch. These may seem hard to get accustomed to at first, but they have some things in common. A shape is drawn either by clicking the left mousebutton and holding it while dragging the mouse, thus changing its shape (lines, circes, ellipses, boxes, bezier curve). You then release the button when the shape is to your liking. Or, for polygons, k-line, rays or multi bezier, you click to set the points which control the shape. Common for both types is that when the shape is fixed, it sticks to your mousepointer (not true for absolutely all tools, if it isn't, it'll say so in this document). To put it on the canvas, click the left mousebutton. Holding it down even lets you draw with it! To use the same tool, but for a different shape (say a shorter line), click the right mousebutton lighty. You may then start defining a different shape. To exit to the main menu, click the right mousebutton and hold it down a little. 2.3.PICTURES LARGER THAN THE SCREEN Munch may load pictures that are larger than the screen, but only in buffer 1. To use a tool on the whole of a large picture, hold the key while exiting the menu to draw. Most tools work on the large pictures (exceptions are DRAW, the airbrushes and some of the effects). 2.4.DRAWING OPTIONS Some options can be turned on/off or set while drawing: t - switch TEMPLATE on/off m - switch MOUSE X/Y on/off x - switch CROSSHAIR/GUIDES on/off h - switch HOT SPOT on/off e - switch EXTENDED INFO on/off a - switch ABSOLUTE MEASURING on/off - - decrease line thickness + - increase line thickness 1 - graphmode=replace 2 - graphmode=transparent 3 - graphmode=XOR 4 - graphmode=inverse transparent 5 - graphmode=AND (block ony) 6 - graphmode=erase (block only) HOT SPOT SIZE: F1 - 16*16 X4 F5 - 64*100 X4 F2 - 16*16 X8 F6 - 80*50 X8 F3 - 32*32 X4 F7 - 160*100 X4 F4 - 32*50 X8 F8 - 320*200 X2 3.MAIN MENU------------------------------------------------------ Only one drawing tool will be active at any time. When a tool is active, clicking on it will usually let you alter its parameters. To go to the work screen (to USE the tools), click the right mousebutton. To draw on a large picture, hold while doing so. To view the picture without the menu, click left on the picture. Click right to return. Press to open a help window. 3.1.DRAW Freehand drawing. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.2.LINE Line. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.3.BOX Box can be filled or have rounded edges. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.4.SQUARE Square can be filled or have rounded edges. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.5.ELLIPSE Ellipse can be filled. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.6.CIRCLE Circle can be filled. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.7.K-LINE Similar to line, but a new line will be started where the last one ends, so forming a series of connected lines. This shape is fixed to the canvas when drawn. It can NOT be used as a "brush". Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.8.RAYS Similar to k-line, only the new line always start where the first one did, forming rays from a common point. This shape is fixed to the canvas when drawn. It can NOT be used as a "brush". Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.9.POLYGON Polygons can be filled. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.10.STAR/MULTIGON The star or multigon can be filled. While drawing the shape, the left and right arrow keys de-/increases the number of tags/sides. If you are drawing a star, moving the mouse vertically will change the lenght of the tags. When the shape is fixed, the star/mutigon can be rotated using the mouse. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.11.OPEN CIRCLE First draw the circle. Then set the start and end angles. Open circles can be filled. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.12.OPEN ELLIPSE First draw the ellipse. Then set the start and end angles. Open ellipses can be filled. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.13.AIRBRUSH/SMUDGE The smudge tool is used for softening hard edges. The airbrush can be configured while in use. The left and right arrows control the speed. The up and down arrows control the spray area. The -/+ keys control the dot size. The airbrush is always AND'ed with the current fill pattern. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.14.ZOOM The zoom allows you to work on a magnified portion of the picture. When on the work screen, a rectangle folows the mouse. This shows the size of the area that will be magnified. To change this, press keys <1>, <2>, <3> or <4> for 16X, 8X, 4X or 2X magnification. Click to enter the "zoom studio". Here you have the magnification levels on the far left. The keys 1-4 still act as shortcuts. You also have an undo (shortcut: ) button above these, which will undo the last action. Then there are the arrow buttons for moving the "magnifying glass" around the picture (you may choose to use the arrow keys instead). The movement can be limited to 1 pixel by selecting the "*" button (shortcut: <*>). To the right are the tool buttons. You may use any of these in magnified mode. The fill pattern for the fill and box tools may be set by clicking on the filed box above the arrow keys. You will then access the fill pattern menu. When drawing, the true coordinates will be displayed here. The box containing the 1:1 version of the magnified portion of the picture may be dragged around in the picture. The magnified window will scroll in realtime. To exit this mode, click the right mousebutton. If you click undo after returning to the main menu, all changes made while in the magnified mode will be lost. 3.15.PARALELLOGRAM Paralellograms can be filled. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.16.(MULTI-) BEZIER The normal bezier curve works like this: Draw a line while holding the button depressed. When released you set two control points. The curve does not pass through them, but they control the shape of the curve. Start, end and control points can be moved by dragging the boxes marking the points. The multi bezier is simpler. You simply set a series of points, and a curve will pass through them. Click lightly on the right mousebutton, and you may move any of the points. Both bezier types are fixed to the canvas when drawn. 3.17.1/4 ELLIPSE 1/4 ellipses can be filled. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.18.RUBBER ELLIPSE First draw a line. This will be the axis around which you create the rubber ellipse using the mouse. Click when selected: parameters menu. 3.19.BLOCK/LASSO Select the block/lasso tool. If selected, enter the block/lasso menu (or press ). While using the block/lasso tool, some effects can be invoked from the work screen. The key rotates the block/lasso 90 degrees clockwise. The key inverts the block/lasso. The arrow keys mirrors the block/lasso. 3.20.CUT/COPY Switches between block/lasso cut (scissors) and copy (camera). Will deactivate paste. When on the work screen, press for copy and for cut. 3.21.PASTE Automatically selected when a block/lasso is cut/copied. Can only be selected by the user if a block/lasso exists. 3.22.FUN TOOL Select the fun tool. If selected, you will enter the fun tool menu (see 6.). There, you may choose another fun tool. 3.23.TEXT Print text to the screen using the selected font, size and style. Click the left mousebutton to enable text input. You may input up to 15 lines of text. To start a new line, hold and press . If you press while typing, an ASCII-table will be produced. Any characters not present on the keyboard can be picked from here, just click on it. will delete the last character in a line. Press when finished. If "stretch" (see 8.7.) is active, you may now modify point size, spacing and line spacing. For point size, hold while moving the mouse vertically. To change line spacing, hold and move the mouse vertically. To change spacing, move the mouse horizontally. If you move the mouse to the far left, spacing will revert to default. Click if selected: text menu (or press the key). 3.24.FILL The active fill tool can be either standard fill, block fill (if a block/lasso exists) or gradient. If the gradient fill tool is active, hold to link areas to be filled with a gradient fill. Click when selected: fill type menu. 3.25.FILL PATTERN DISPLAY Displays the current fill pattern. Click this to access the fill pattern menu (or press , see also 9.). toggles black/white as the drawing color. 3.26.SPECIAL MENU Click this to access the special menu (see 10.). 3.27.DESKTOP MENU Click this to access the desktop menu (see 13.), or press . 3.28.EFFECT MENU Click this to access the effect menu (see 11.), or press . 3.29.GRAPH MENU Click this to access the graph menu (see 14.), or press . 3.30.LARGE PIC MENU Click this to access the large pic menu (see 12.). 3.31.ERASER Eraser tool. Works by first setting size (as if you were sizing a box), then you can use it to erase parts of your picture. If it is already selected, you have the option to clear the buffer (You can also use the key for this). 3.32.PRINT This function is very limited in this version. It will only work with Epson-compatible 9-pin printers and only 640*400 (screen sized) pictures. You have the option of printing via ALT+HELP (the same as the desktop function) or proportional. This will be improved in a later version.

is the shortcut for PRINT. 3.33.QUIT Exits Munch. You will be prompted for confirmation (for safety...). If you want Munch to remember your settings the next time you run it, click "save parameters". 3.34.LOAD PICTURE Pictures larger than the screen (640*400), can be loaded into all buffers, but will be cropped to 640*400 in all buffers but nummber 1. Munch recognizes the following picture formats: IMG, PAC (STAD), TNY/3 (mono only), MAC (MacPaint), PIC (screendump), PI1-3, PC1-3 and NEO. Degas and NEO color pictures will be converted to mono. In addition, Munch has its own picture format, MNC. This is compressed and may contain parameter data for Munch. If parameters is contained in a MNC-file, you have the choice of loading or ignoring them. If the picture is one in a series (ex: pic01.mnc - pic02.mnc - pic03.mnc), all pictures in the series will be loaded into the following buffers. To disable this function, hold while loading. You can also load an entire directory in one go. Just hold while selecting "load". is the shortcut for LOAD PICTURES 3.35.SAVE PICTURE Munch will save in the following formats: MNC, IMG, TIFF, PAC, PI3, PIC, TXT (converts a screen sized picture to ASCII!), PRG (self-displaying screen sized picture!), PI1, PI2 and NEO. For details of the formats, see 3.34. MNC can include parameters for Munch. If "13.4.7.DISABLE SETTINGS IN MNC-FILE" is not selected, you will be asked if you want to include these parameters. Saving in MNC, IMG, TIFF and PAC formats is disabled in the unregistered version. To save a series of buffers/pictures, hold alternate. You may then set the number of pictures to save. is the shortcut for SAVE PICTURES. 3.36.SET TEMPLATE The template function allows you to use a block or the snapgrid as an "overlay" on the workscreen. It is visible, but not a part of the picture. Useful for tracing images that are too blocky to save with the SMOOTH function... Choose BLOCK (AND's the block, if one exists, with a 50% raster and uses the result as the template), SNAPGRID (uses the grid value set in 3.41.SET SNAP) or OFF (switches template off). If not active, this menu item is grayed. 3.37.SET CLIP RECTANGLE When a clip rectangle is set, the area outside it is protected and cannot be altered (BEWARE: the effects ignore the clip rectangle!). Choose WINDOW to set the rectange, or OFF to switch it off. If not active, this menu item is grayed. 3.38.UNDO Will undo the last change to your picture. This buffer is updated each time you enter the work screen or effect menu. is the shortcut for this function. 3.39.BUFFER SELECTION You may switch between picture buffers by clicking on the desired one. You may also select buffers by using the keys. To switch sets of ten buffers (1-10,11-20 etc), use the left and right arrow keys. Alternativey, use + for buffer sets of ten (1-10 to 91-100). Buffers containing picture data is marked in their upper right corners. There is a maximum of 100 buffers. To copy from one buffer to another, hold whie switching. You may now choose to mix the buffers or to do a simple copy from the copy menu (see 15.). 3.40.DRAWING AIDS This menu entry will let you switch the mouse coordinates display, the guides/crosshair and the hot spot on/off. Click on the icon, and you may set them active/inactive by clicking on them. The main menu icon changes accordingly. To exit from this selection, click the right mousebutton. If any of these drawing aids is not active,it is grayed in the menu icon. 3.41.SET SNAP Snap to grid function. When this is active (not grey), all tools are limited to coordinates that are a multiple of the grid value. Choose ON, OFF or Set Size. Set size also turns the grid on. Legal values are 2-100. Exit this dialog by pressing . 3.42.SET MIRROR This will set the mirror options. All tools can be mirrored vertically, horizontally and/or both. The point/axis they are mirrored around can also be set here. To exit this selection, click the right mousebutton. If not active, this menu item is grayed. 4.PARAMETERS MENU------------------------------------------------ Switching between tools (airbrush/smear, multi bezier/bezier, star/multigon) will cause the selected of the pair to fill the slot on the main menu. 4.1.CORNERS Swithces between rounded and square corners for the box and square tools. 4.2.EDGES Switches between edge around filled shapes and no edge (boundary). 4.3.DISPLAY FILLED SHAPE Displays the result of the 4.1.CORNERS and 4.2.EDGES switches. Also displays the current fill pattern. The display area is also a button. Click it, and you get to the fill pattern menu, click right to return. 4.4.FILLED SHAPES When selected, shapes that can be, will be filled. This will be reflected in their apperance on the main menu. When not selected, shapes will be drawn without fill. 4.5.MULTI BEZIER When selected, beziers will act much like k-lines, where you set the points, and the curve will pass through them. When not selected, a normal bezier curve is used, with start, end and two control points. 4.6.LINE WIDTH Increases the line width. Will wrap to a line width of 1 when maximum width is reached. 4.7.LINE TYPE Select line type (dashes, dots...). There are 7 types and the list wraps. Line type will be irrelevant if the line with is set to be greater than 1. 4.8.LINE ENDS Set the line ends individually for the start and end of a line. Your choices are square, rounded and arrow. The square and rounded end types will be indistinguashable when line width (see 4.6.) is set to 1. 4.9.DISPLAY/EDIT LINE Under the line type, width and ends buttons are the line display. Here, all the choices you have made will be reflected in the line's apperance. If the line width is not greater than 1, you can edit the line by clicking in this area. You may then edit the magnified line while watching the result in true size. To exit, click the right mousebutton. 4.10.AIRBRUSH/SMEAR Switch between the airbrush and smear tools. The following options will not be available if smear is selected. 4.10.1.SIZE Increase the size of the airbrush aerea. When the maximum size is reached, the size is set to minimum. 4.10.2.SPEED Increase airbrush speed (1 is fastest, 4 slowest). If 4, it is set to 1. 4.10.3.DOT SIZE Increase the size of the airbrush dot size. When the maximum size is reached, the size is set to minimum. If NVDI is not active (installed in the auto folder), the minimum will not be visible. A VDI bug??? 4.10.4.DISPLAY AIRBRUSH SIZE Displays the airbrush size and the current fill pattern. Click on this to go to the fill pattern menu. Click right to return. 4.11.GENERAL GRAPHMODE The general graphmode is separate from the text and block graphmodes. There are four options: REPLACE, which replaces everything under the shape. TRANSPARENT, is just that. XOR prints the shape in the opposite color of what is already present in the picture. INVERSE TRANSPARENT is transparent, but inverts the colors of the shape. To scroll to this list, simply click repeatedy on the GRAPHMODE box. 4.12.STAR/MULTIGON/NUMBER OF SIDES Increase/decrease the number of sides to a multigon/tags on a star by clicking the arrows. Click on the icon itself to swith between the star and the multigon tool. 4.13.SLOWDRAW Global switch, it affects all drawing tools. When this is selected, mouse movement while drawing will be slowed down for detailed work. It has the opposite effect of a mouse accelerator. 4.14.SET ONCE Global switch, it affects all drawing tools. When this is selected you will not be able to draw using a shape (or block/lasso) as brush, when you click the left mousebutton to draw, it will draw ONCE, and then wait for you to release the mousebutton. 5.BLOCK MENU----------------------------------------------------- A block is always rectangular in shape, while the lasso can be any irregular shape (created by a polygon). Block/lasso effects (5.1-15) are only available if a block or lasso currently exist. To remove the menu, click the left mousebutton on the block/lasso. To reinstall it, click the right. To exit to the main menu, click the right mousebutton. 5.1.INVERT Inverts the block/lasso. 5.2.OUTLINE Outlines/unfills the block/lasso. Identical to the effect menu option. See 11.6 for details. 5.3.HALVE SIZE Lets you halve the size of the block/lasso. Choose WIDTH, HEIGHT or BOTH. 5.4.STRETCH/RUBBER After using this effect, you may (if deemed neccesary) get the option to clean up and/or smooth the block/lasso. 5.4.1.PROPORTIONAL STRETCH New size is indicated by an outline that is mousecontrolled. To set the new size, click the left mousebutton, to cancel, click the right. The change in size is proportional, i.e. the height/width aspect is not changed. 5.4.2.FREE STRETCH Identical to the proportional stretch effect, except that the height/width aspect is ignored. 5.4.3.RUBBER This effect is rather different. It places the block/lasso on the screen plus an outline with handles in each corner. You may now click on any one of these handles with the left mousebutton and hold it to drag this corner to a different location. When released, the block/lasso is redrawn. This can be repeated as many times as neccesary to produce the desired effect. When finished, click the right mousebutton. You may then choose to clean up and/or smooth the block/lasso. 5.5.ELLIPSE EFFECT This effect transforms your block/lasso into an elliptical shape. It's hard to describe, so the best way to imagine the effect is to try it. You control an ellipse with the mouse. To set the shape, click the left mousebutton, to cancel, click the right. When done, you will get the option to clean up the block/lasso. 5.6.ROTATE Rotate the block/lasso either 90 degrees clockwise or any degree (FREE). If FREE is chosen, you may rotate an outline of the block/lasso to the desired degree with the mouse. Click left to rotate or right to cancel. After rotating, you get the option to rotate the block/lasso. 5.7.SKEW Choose X or Y, and then skew the outline of the block/lasso to your liking. When done, click left to perform the skew, or right to cancel. 5.8.PROGRAMMABLE EFFECT User loadable effect. Identical to the effect menu option. See 11.25. for details. 5.9.DARKEN/LIGHTEN Choose DARKEN or LIGHTEN. Options identical to the effect menu option. See 11.4./11.5. for details. 5.10.MIRROR Choose X or Y. Flips the block/lasso. 5.11.DOUBLE Lets you double the size of the block/lasso, but only if the new size is not greater than 640*400 (screen size). Choose WIDTH, HEIGHT or BOTH. You get the option to smooth any jagged edges produced by the doubling when finished. 5.12.SMOOTH Smooths jagged edges. Identical to the effect menu option. See 11.10. for details. 5.13.REMOVE SINGLE PIXELS It's all in the name... Identical to the effect menu option. See 11.21. for details. 5.14.GRADIENT SHADOW Will create a gradient shadow to the right and down. To change the direction, use the 90 degrees rotation before and after using this effect. You have an option to draw a white outline around the block, to make it stand out from its shadow better. 5.15.BEND This allows you to create a sinusoid bend in your block/lasso. First choose X or Y. Then you control an outline of the block/lasso with the mouse. When you are happy with the shape, click the left mousebutton to perform the effect or the right mousebutton to cancel. 5.16.UNDO Will undo all block/lasso effects performed since the block/lasso menu was entered. 5.17.BLOCK/LASSO SELECTION BOX There are two buttons in this selection box. They determine how the block tool works. If LASSO is selected, the block function will include a mask, and block shapes can have other than rectangular shapes. The graphmode for blocks will be limited to replace. If BLOCK is selected, the block will always be rectangular. When you switch from block to lasso, the block will be lost. When you switch from lasso to block, you get the choice of keeping either the block or the mask. 5.18.LOAD BLOCK/LASSO Load a block in either *.BLK (GFA PUT-block) or *.IMG format. If the *.IMG picture is larger than 640*400 it will be clipped. You can also load a lasso in *.LSO format. 5.19.SAVE BLOCK/LASSO Save as *.BLK, *.IMG or *.LSO. You can only save in *.LSO format if the current block is a lasso. The "SAVE AS IMG" option is disabled in the unregistered version of Munch. 5.20.GRAPHMODE The block mode is seperate from the text mode and general graphmode. There are six options: REPLACE, which replaces everything under the block. TRANSPARENT, is just that. XOR prints the block in the opposite color of what is already present in the picture. INVERSE TRANSPARENT is transparent, but inverts the colors of the block. AND will only set the pixels that are set in BOTH the block and the picture. Finally, ERASE will erase that area in the picture that is set to black in the block. To scroll to this list, just click repeatedly on the GRAPHMODE box. NB: For lassos, only REPLACE mode is possible. 5.21.SLOWDRAW Global switch, affects all drawing tools. When this is selected, mouse movement while drawing will be slowed down for detailed work. It has the opposite effect of a mouse accelerator. 5.22.SET ONCE Global switch, it affects all drawing tools. When this is selected you will not be able to draw using a shape (or block/lasso) as brush, when you click the left mousebutton to draw, it will draw ONCE, and then wait for you to release the mousebutton. 6.FUN TOOL MENU-------------------------------------------------- This is where you will find the most weird & wonderful tools in Munch. Use this menu to choose the active FUN TOOL for the main menu. To exit this menu, click the right mousebutton. 6.1.DOTTY PEN The prime function of this tool is to draw an uneven line. Your freehand line, when first drawn, will consist merely of single pixel dots. When the mousebutton is released, the dots will be connected, thus creating the line. There is a limit to the number of dots that can be used (1000), when this limit is reached, the drawing is terminated and the dots connected. You may then continue. 6.2.MOVING TRIANGLE Allows you to draw using an ever changing and rotating triangle. First, choose wether it should be filled (using the current active fill) or empty. Next, set the diameter for the triangles size using the mouse. Click when the size is right, and you may begin. The rotation will continue even as you draw. 6.3.FUN SPRAY Three different types (chosen when you enter the work screen): BUBBLES, sprays with white filled circles, STARS, spray with stars, and FUR DOTS, which is so hard to explain that you'll just have to try it to find out what it does. All three are subject to the same parameters and the same parameter controls as the normal spray/airbrush (see 3.13.). 6.4.FOUNTAIN PEN ON SPOUNGY PAPER This is truly a weird tool! It seeks to imitate a fountain pen drawing on spoungy paper. It draws dots when the left mousebutton is pressed. The size of the dots are determined by the speed with which you move the mouse. Careful control of the mouse movemment is needed to make this work. 6.5.DRAW USING DIAGONAL LINE This tool lets you draw (freehand) with a diagonal line, the size of which will be set when you enter the work screen. To change the direction of the diagonal, click the right mousebutton when setting the size. The result of the drawing is AND'ed with the current fill pattern. 6.6.STAR TRANSFORM Draw two stars. Munch will use the first as a starting point, and gradually change size, placement and rotation over 65 steps to the second star's size, placement and rotation. 6.7.ELLIPSE TRANSFORM Similar to the STAR TRANSFORM tool, except there is no rotation, and ellipses are used instead of stars. 6.8.DIAMOND SHAPE Diamond-like shape built by ellipses. First, set the density. Then you draw a horizontal line. When you let go of the mousebutton, the shape will be constructed based on your line (and the density set). 6.9.MULTIGON TRANSFORM Similar to the STAR TRANSFORM tool, but multigons are used instead. 6.10.STRANGE ELLIPSE SHAPES There are three of these. You choose which one to use as you enter the work screen. Number 1 is circular, the other two are elliptical. Aside from this, I will not try to explain the shapes in writing. Try them! The line width setting affects these shapes. 6.11.ELLIPSE/ELLIPSE This tool lets you first draw an ellipse, then a second one. The end result will be the second ellipse drawn with the first as a "brush". Affected by line width. 6.12.3D CUBE Similar to PARALELLOGRAM (see 3.15.), but when drawn, you may position a second, identical PARALELLOGRAM, connected to the first, so as to give a 3D impression. If 3D POINTED (see 6.24) is selected, the second paralellogram is replaced by a single point. If FILLED is chosen (only available if 3D NORMAL is set), each side of the result can be given a unique fill pattern. First, correct the perspective if neccesary (by using the arrow keys and return key, this is promted on screen). Then each side will be flashed, and you may select its fill pattern from the fill pattern menu (see 9.). To exit the fill pattern menu, click the right mousebutton. The next side to be filled will flash. Repeat this procedure until done. 6.13.3D POLYGON Similar to POLYGON (see 3.9.), but when drawn, you may position a second, identical POLYGON, connected to the first, so as to give a 3D impression. If 3D POINTED (see 6.24) is selected, the second polygon is replaced by a single point. 6.14.3D ELLIPSE Similar to ELLIPSE (see 3.5.), but when drawn, you may position a second, identical ellipse, connected to the first, so as to give a 3D impression. If 3D POINTED (see 6.24) is selected, the second ellipse is replaced by a single point. 6.15.GRADIENT RECTANGLE Draw two rectangles. You will then be asked if you want to use straight or rounded edges. Munch will use the first as a starting point, and gradually change size, placement and fill pattern over 65 steps to the second rectangle's size and placement. Start and end fills are determined by the 100%-0% and 0%-100% buttons. 6.16.GRADIENT POLYGON Similar to gradient rectangle, only two POLYGONS are used. 6.17.GRADIENT SEGMENT ELLIPSE This is rather different to the other gradient shapes. It's best thought of as a pie graph with a large number of slices, Each slice is filled with an increasingly darker fill pattern. Draw an ellipse and then choose a starting point (degree). You will then be asked if you want it to be SINGLE or DOUBLE. Single means that it will go from either black to white or white to black (depending on the 0%- 100/100%-0% setting), and DOUBLE means that this cycle will be repeated twice around the ellipse. 6.18.GRADIENT MULTIGON Similar to gradient rectangle, only two MULTIGONS are used and they can be indipendently rotated. The arrow keys increase or decrease the number of sides. 6.19.GRADIENT STAR Similar to gradient rectangle, only two STARS are used and they can be indipendently rotated. The arrow keys increase or decrease the number of tags. 6.20.GRADIENT ELLIPSE Similar to gradient rectangle, only two ELLIPSES are used. 6.21.100%-0% Determines the direction of all the gradient shapes. If this setting is chosen the result is: Black -> white. 6.22.0%-100% Determines the direction of all the gradient shapes. If this setting is chosen the result is: White -> black. 6.23.GRADIENT TYPE Set the type of gradient fill for all the gradient shapes. 6.24.3D NORMAL/POINTED Determines wether the 3D shapes should be true 3D (NORMAL) or end in a single point (POINTED). 7.FILL TYPE MENU------------------------------------------------- In this menu, you determine how the fill tool in the main menu behaves. To exit this menu, click the right mousebutton. There are three modes for the fill tool: 7.1.NORMAL FILL Normal fill uses the fill pattern set in the fill pattern menu. 7.2.BLOCK FILL Block fill is only availabe if a block exists. If not, normal fill is used. Block fill allows you to use fill patterns larger than 16*16 pixels. 7.3.GRADIENT FILL Gradient fill is a smooth transition between start and end fills (for example black (100%) and white (0%)) over the filled area. The process is completely automatic. 7.4.GRADIENT FILL DIRECTION The four buttons on the left of the menu determine the direction of the gradient fill. The chosen direction is shown in inverse. 7.5.GRADIENT FILL START Choose a percent fill as the start of the gradient fill by clicking on the arrow boxes. If you hold the button, the value scrolls. The range is from -100% (black) through 0% (white) to 100% (black). Holding the key pressed simultanously increases the scrolling speed. 7.6.GRADIENT FILL END Choose a percent fill as the end of the gradient fill by clicking on the arrow boxes. If you hold the button, the value scrolls. The range is from -100% (black) through 0% (white) to 100% (black). Holding the key pressed simultanously increases the scrolling speed. 7.7.GRADIENT FILL TYPE Choose the gradient type using the arrows. There are six different gradient types. 8.TEXT MENU------------------------------------------------------ Munch's text functions can deal with internal system fonts, bitmap GDOS fonts or vector SpeedoGDOS fonts. The presence of SpeedoGDOS or GDOS is automatically detected, and the correct fonts will be installed. To the right of the menu, the letter "A" will always be displayed, using all the attributes set in this menu except direction. This is indicated by an arrow. To exit this menu, click the right mousebutton. 8.1.TEXT MODE The text mode is separate from the block mode and general graphmode. There are four options: REPLACE, which replaces everything under the text rectangle, TRANSPARENT, which is just that, XOR, which prints the text in the opposite color of what is already present in the picture, and INVERSE TRANSPARENT, which is transparent, but inverts the colors within the text rectangle. 8.2.TEXT STYLE These are the text effects. NORMAL cancels any other choice made. The rest; BOLD, LIGHT, ITALIC, UNDERLINED AND OUTLINED, can be combined to obtain the desired effect. 8.3.DIRECTION Below the text style box are four arrow boxes. These determine the direction of the text. Your choice appears inverted, as with the other selections in the text menu. Also, the direction is indicated by the arrow lower left in the text menu. 8.4.POINT SIZE The size of the text can be determined here. Minimum is 4 and maximum is 72. Not all bitmap fonts will support all sizes. 8.5.FONT NAME Below the point size selection is the FONT NAME. If this is the plain vanilla system font, it will be called SYSTEM. Otherwise, the font's true name will be used. With dingbat fonts, the name will be impossibe to read, as it is always printed using the font itself. If you cannot read the font's name, simply click on it with the left mousebutton. It will appear in the system font for as long as you keep the button depressed. 8.6.FONT Here you change fonts using the arrow buttons (this only works if there are more than one font in the system, though). To examine a font, click on the FONT button with the left mousebutton, and an ASCII-table will appear. The table presents the font in 20 point size. Clicking on a character with the left mousebutton brings up an alert revealing the character and ASCII-number. To return to the text menu, click the right mousebutton. 8.7.STRETCH If this is selected (inverted), text size, character spacing and line spacing can be changed while on the work screen. 9.FILL PATTERN MENU---------------------------------------------- 9.1.STANDARD FILL PATTERNS Click on any of the internal Atari standard patterns to make it the active fill pattern. 9.2.PICK A GRADIENT FILL PATTERN This allows you to use any step of any gradient pattern as the active fill pattern. Click on the gradient box, and you may choose gradient type and fill. When choosing fill, holding the key down increases the scrolling speed. Click the right mousebutton when done. 9.3.CUSTOM PATTERNS Theese are the user defined fill patterns. There are 8 slots for user patterns. They can be edited, saved, loaded and cut from pictures. To select one as the active fill pattern, simply click on it (left mousebutton). 9.4.EDIT Allows you to edit one of the user defined fill patterns. You must first choose a slot to edit. A blinking rectangle will prompt you for this. Holding the left mousebutton down during editing will let you draw, holding the right erases. There are 5 menu entries in this edit menu: 9.4.1.CLEAR Clears the fill pattern. A new design can be made from scratch. 9.4.2.ROTATE Rotates the fill pattern 90 degrees clockwise. 9.4.3.FLIP Flips the fill pattern. Choose X or Y for either right/left or up/down flip. 9.4.4.INVERT Inverts the fill pattern. 9.4.5.EXIT You will be asked if you want to accept the changes or cancel them. 9.5.CUT FILL PATTERN FROM PICTURE Allows you to cut a fill pattern from a picture. You must first choose the slot to cut it to. A blinking rectangle will prompt you for this. To cut, click the left mousebutton, to cancel, click the right. 9.6.LOAD FILL PATTERN Loads a fill pattern. You must first choose a slot to load it into. A blinking rectangle will prompt you for this. The format is identical to SPRITE EDITOR's fill pattern format. 9.7.SAVE FILL PATTERN Save a fill pattern. You must first choose a slot to save. A blinking rectangle will prompt you for this. The format is identical to SPRITE EDITOR's fill pattern format. 9.8.DISPLAY BOX/COLOR The box on the far right of the menu will always show the current active fillpattern. If the word "WHITE" is displayed in this box, the active color is white. To switch between black & white as the drawing color, click on the display box. 9.9.MAIL TO SPRITE EDITOR Sends fill patterns to the SPRITE EDITOR accessory (only available to registered users), where they can be further edited and converted to sprites or mousepointers. Will only send if the current active fill pattern is either one of the gradients or a user fill. You can then choose to send either just the active fill pattern or all 8 user fill patterns. It is adviced that you immediatly after sending enters the desktop menu and SPRITE EDITOR to receive the fill patterns. 10.SPECIAL MENU-------------------------------------------------- 10.1.GFA (SAVE AS) Define a rectangle. Then a dialog box will appear, showing the coordinates for the upper left and lower right corners. This can be saved to a *.LST file. If the LST-file exists, it will be appended to it. To also save the content of the rectangle as a GET/PUT file, choose "LST/BLK". 10.2.BITBLK (SAVE AS) Allows you to save a portion of the picture as a RSC-BITBLK (to include in a RSC-file). The width must be a product of 16, so your choices are limited to such values. The legal limit for BITBLK's are given as 128*128, so this is maximum. I will concider removing this limit, as in spite of some documentation, BITBLK's larger than 128*128 works! 10.3.RSC ICON (SAVE AS) Allows you to save a 32*32 block as a RSC-ICON for inclusion in a RSC-file. A mask is automatically created. As ICONs cannot exist on their own in a RSC-file, it is placed on a FORM prior to saving. 10.4.CIRCLE THROUGH 3 POINTS This is just another way to draw a circle. Set three points, and a circle will be drawn that passes through all of them. The circle will be shown when two points are set, with the mouse as the third point. To draw on a total of a large picture, hold the key when selecting. 10.5.C (SAVE AS) Allows you to save a portion of the picture in C-language format. This is formatted code, ready to be blitted to any rez screen. 10.6.ASSEMBLER (SAVE AS) Allows you to save a portion of the picture in assembler- language format. This is formatted code, ready to be blitted to any rez screen. 10.7.MEASURE ANGLE Will let you draw two lines, and then measures the angle between them. Pressing the space bar before fixing the last line switches between measuring the outside or inside angle. The angle (in degrees) and a circle showing the measured angle will be attached to the two lines. 10.8.RIGHT-ANGLED LINES First draw a line in the usual way. A short right mouseclick to draw a new line will let you draw only lines that are right angled to the first. 10.9.PARALELL LINES Almost identical to RIGHT-ANGLED LINES (10.8.), here you will be limited to paralell lines instead. 10.10.HORISONTAL MEASURE LINE Horizontal measure line, this line can only be drawn horizontally. Measurement determined by PIXEL VALUE (10.13.) and MEASUREMENT TYPE (10.14). 10.11.VERTICAL MEASURE LINE Vertical measure line, this line can only be drawn vertically. Measurement determined by PIXEL VALUE (10.13.) and MEASUREMENT TYPE (10.14). 10.12.FREE MEASURE LINE Measure line, this line can be drawn horizontally, vertically or as a diagonal line. Measurement determined by PIXEL VALUE (10.13.) and MEASUREMENT TYPE (10.14). 10.13.PIXEL VALUE Set the value used in ABSOLUTE (see 2.4. and 13.4.5.) and the measuring lines. As an example, 0.00333 will give you correct values (1:1) for measurement in inches if the dot- per-inch (DPI) value is 300 (laser resoution). For other DPI-values, you will have to do a little math on your own. 10.14.MEASUREMENT TYPE Set wether to measure ABSOLUTE (see 2.4. and 13.4.5.) and the measure lines in either mm, cm or in. 11.EFFECTS MENU-------------------------------------------------- To get the most out of the effects in Munch, experiment! Also, combining two or more effects may give exciting results... To remove the menu so you can view more of the picture, click on the visibe portion of the picture with the left mousebutton. To return, click the right mousebutton. The right mousebutton also exits this menu. 11.1.INVERT Inverts the picture - black pixels become white & vice versa. 11.2.SHADOW You first set the direction and placement of the shadow with the mouse. Click the left mousebutton to accept, or the right to cancel. If accepted, you wil get the choice of three different types of shadow: BLACK, wich is simply a black shadow, ST.FILL, which is identical, except the shadow is filled with the current standard fillpattern. Finally, there is DOUBLE. This also use the standard fillpattern, but rather than a continous shadow, only the final point of the shadow is used, thus giving a 3 dimensional impression. 11.3.SHADOW+OUTLINE Set the direction and placement of the shadow as above. The original picture is first outlined, then a black shadow is added. This is a great effect for text. 11.4.DARKEN Make the picture darker by thickening it. Choose between 4- way and 8-way for less or more of the effect. 11.5.LIGHTEN Make the picture lighter by making lines thinner. Choose between 4-way and 8-way for less or more of the effect. 11.6.OUTLINE Here you have 3 choices: 4-way / 8-way or UNFILL. Unfill removes all areas filled with black. 4-way draws an outline around all elements of the picture, and deletes the original picture. 8-way is the same as 4-way, only it uses a more solid line for its outline. 11.7.MIRROR First choose which axis you want to mirror, X or Y. If you choose X, the next options are LEFT/WHOLE/RIGHT. LEFT will make a mirror image of the left half of the picture on the right half. RIGHT does the opposite. WHOLE mirrors the whole picture. For Y, the options are TOP/WHOLE/BOTTOM. It works in the same way. 11.8.WAVES Modulates the picture with "wavy" lines. First choose X or Y as the axis of the waves. Then choose SINE/SAWTOOTH. SINE is rounded waves, SAWTOOTH is straight lines. Then you can set the lenght and frequency of the waves with the mouse. A display of the waveform is shown. To accept, click the left mousebutton, to cancel, click the right. 11.9.MANUAL SQUEEZE/BEND Here, you have three alternatives: X, Y and SqueezeX. X lets you move horizontal lines, while Y lets you move vertical lines. SqueezeX does exactly that; it squeezes horizontal lines. All three are mouse controlled; active when you hold the left mousebutton. To terminate, click the right mousebutton. This effect is only available for screen-sized pictures (640*400). 11.10.SMOOTH This effect smooths jagged edges in the picture. How well it works depends on how jagged the edges are. You can choose to smooth with black, which makes the picture a little darker in the process, or white, which make it lighter. 11.11.PIXELLATION This effect makes the picture resolution coarser. What it really does, is to decrease the size and then magnify it to its original size. This gives the picture a "blocky" appearance. Choose between 2, 4 or 8 times size reduction and magnification, with 8 having the greatest resolution reduction. 11.12.MULTIPLY 4 This effect produces 4 half size images of the picture instead of the original. 11.13.WINDOW This effect is intended for screen-sized pictures (640*400). If it involves a larger picture, it will only use that portion of it that is currently visible. It makes a "window" to the picture in the previous buffer, or, if the current buffer is #1, to buffer #2. You have three choices: MOVABLE, FIXED and 007 J.B. MOVABLE lets you draw a rectangular window which can be moved around your picture. Click left to fix, click right to cancel. FIXED also lets you draw a rectanguar window, but this time it is the CONTENTS of the window (i.e. the other picture) that moves with the mouse. 007 J.B. is similar to the MOVABLE effect, except that it uses a circular shape. 11.14.PERSPECTIVE You are asked wether you want to make an X-perspective or a Y-perspective. This effect is mouse controlled. Lines wil display the perspective of the final effect. When you are happy with the effect, click the left mousebutton. To cancel, click the right button. 11.15.TORN EDGES Gives the impression that the edges of the picture are torn paper. 11.16.CYLINDER First you must choose either a horizontal or vertical cylinder. Then you control the shape and size of the culinder with the mouse. Click left to accept or right to cancel. If accepted, you wil be asked if you want to draw the cylinder. If you click YES, the cylinder will be drawn as the lines that controlled the transormation of the picture. 11.17.ROUND FISHEYE Imitates the effect of an extreme wide angle lens (also called a "fisheye" lens. Produces a circular result. Mouse controlled for screen-sized pictures (otherwise automatic). Click the left button when the ellipse is to your liking, and the right to cancel. Produces best results when you first use the SQUARE FISHEYE effect, then this. 11.18.SQUARE FISHEYE Imitates the effect of an extreme wide angle lens (also called a "fisheye" lens. Produces a rectanguar result. 11.19.GRADIENT This effect makes all black areas in the picture gradient. First you must choose the gradient type and end fill. The gradient fill goes from black to your chosen end fill. When done, click the right mousebutton. You must now choosehow many steps the gradient fill will use. To increase, move the mouse to the right, to decrease, move the mouse to the left. An indicator will show on-screen how the gradient density will look. When you are happy whith the result, click the mouse. The effect will now be performed. WARNING: if you have selected a large number of steps, this may take a while (it's a rather complicated procedure...)! Memory permitting, you will now be shown th result and asked if you want to invert it. If memory is low, this option is omitted. When inverted, the effect is that of a (much) lighter picture (it's hard to describe, try it!). 11.20.BACKLIGHT Fills all enclosed aereas with black. 11.21.REMOVE SINGLE PIXELS Removes either single black or white pixels from the picture. Great for cleaning up scanned artwork. 11.22.EMPTY SLOT No effect here yet. This is a slot reserved for future expansion. 11.23.EMPTY SLOT No effect here yet. This is a slot reserved for future expansion. 11.24.SPOTLIGHT This is really an inverted gradient ellipse. It gives the impression of a spotlight directed at a point in your picture. First choose the gradient type. Click the right mousebutton when finished. Then draw the circular shape on your picture where you want the spotlight to be pointed. 11.25.PROGRAMMABLE This is a slot where you can load custom programmable effects. Their extender is *.EFF. When clicked on, this lets you either perform the current effect, load and execute another or cancel the operation. Programmable effects are easily written using the M.E.C.S. (Munch Effect Construction Set) program available only to registered users. 11.26.GRID This effect is intended for use with screen-sized pictures (640*400), but can be used on the visible portion of a larger picture. It puts the picture on a 8 by 5 grid. All points where lines meet on this grid can be grabbed by clicking and holding the left mousebutton. You can then drag the point to a new location and let go of the mousebutton. When the grid has the desired shape, hit the key, and your picture will be scaled to the grid. To cancel, click the right mousebutton. To load a predefined grid, press . To save your grid, press . Pressing will randomly distort the grid. As this effect can be performed on a portion of a larger picture, there is also an option to leave the edges of the grid untouched, just press to do this. 11.27.MOVE This works in two different ways, depending on picture size. If the picture is screen-sized (640*400), four copies of it will be placed on a 1280*800 canvas. You can then scroll around on this. A left click on the mouse fixes the display as the new picture. A right click cancels. If the picture is larger than the screen (>640*400), this is not an effect, but the same routine for sliding around in the large picture as is found in the main menu. 11.28.SLIDESHOW This is a slideshow utility. It has three options for picture transitions: DISSOLVE, SCROLL and CUT. Once you have chosen one of these, all buffers containing a picture will be shown in succesion. The slideshow is mouse controlled. Up and down movement will speed up/slow down transitions. Right and left movement will increase/decrease the time each picture is shown. To exit, click the right mousebutton. For more advanced slideshows, BITMAP VOYEUR should be used (BITMAP VOYEUR is an advanced script-based slideshow program made available only to registered users). 11.29.FILL/AND Only those pixels set in both the picture and the fillpattern will remain. The fillpattern is determined by the current fillpattern and filltype. Gradient and block fills are also valid here. To make it convinient for you to set the fill parameters without leaving the effect menu, buttons for the fill type menu (see 7.) and fill pattern menu (see 9.) are located directly below the icon for the FILL/AND-effect. 11.30.UNDO Can also be accessed from the keyboard with the undo-key. Will undo all operations performed since entering the effect menu. 12.LARGE PICTURES MENU------------------------------------------- This menu is ony available if the current buffer is -1-, as only this buffer can contain pictures larger than 640*400. 12.1.WIDTH Set new picture width, either by using the arrows (holding speeds the scrolling), or by clicking on the number and typing it in. The new width will not take effect until you press the NEW (see 12.4.) button. Max width is 2.500 pixels. 12.2.HEIGHT Set new picture height, either by using the arrows (holding speeds the scrolling), or by clicking on the number and typing it in. The new height will not take effect until you press the NEW (see 12.4.) button. Max height is 3.500 pixels. 12.3.SCREEN SIZE Clicking this button will set the values of WIDTH and HEIGHT (see 12.1. & 12.2.) to 640 and 400. The new width and height will not take effect until you press the NEW (see 12.4.) button. 12.4.NEW Will create a new picture in buffer -1-, with its size as set in WIDTH and HEIGHT. Any existing picture in buffer -1- will be lost, WITH NO UNDO OPTION!!! CAREFUL! 12.5.CUT This is only available if the picture is larger than 640*400. Click this, cut a block from the downsized picture appearing on the screen, and you will be faced with 3 choices: 12.5.1.COPY Select this option, and a small copy of the block is attached to your mouse. If the left mousebutton is pressed, the block will be copied/mixed to the existing picture. You may choose the copy mode from the copy menu (see 15.). 12.5.2.RESIZE The chosen block can be resized. Click the left mousebutton to place the upper left corner of it's new size. Drag the mouse to the position of the lower right corner of the wanted size, and release the mousebutton. You may then choose the copy mode from the copy menu (see 15). 12.5.3.CROP Select this option, and the block selected will take over as the new picture. Two points worth mentioning: There is no UNDO for this function. If your chosen block is smaller than 640*400, you wil be asked to use the BLOCK/LASSO tool instead (see 3.19.). 12.6.ROTATE This function will rotate the picture by 90 degrees clockwise (but only if the picture is larger than 640*400. 12.7.SCAN FUNCTIONS These functions are currently inactive, but are intended for monochrome hand scanners. May be included in later update. 13.DESKTOP MENU-------------------------------------------------- 13.1.MUNCH Here, besides any installed desk accessories, you will find the "ABOUT MUNCH..." entry. Click this to get information about MUNCH. Return with a keypress (any key). 13.2.FILE 13.2.1.SAVE MUNCH.DEF Click this to save the current settings as default, these will be loaded at startup. 13.2.2.SAVE *.SET Here, you can save the settings in a file that can be loaded at a later time. 13.2.3.LOAD *.SET This function will let you load a settings file saved with "SAVE *.SET". 13.2.4.LOAD TXT.MAP You may load an alternative translation table for the "SAVE AS ASCII" option (see 3.35.). The file should consist of 128 ASCII characters in plain ASCII format with no spaces or line breaks. The first character represents white, and the last black. This *.MAP-file can be constructed in any ASCII-editor. 13.2.5.ERASE Allows you to erase a file from disk. 13.2.6.RENAME Allows you to rename a file. First choose a file using the file selector, then give it a new name using the file selector again. 13.2.7.FOLDER Allows you to create a new folder from within MUNCH using the file selector. 13.2.8.RETURN Return to the main menu. 13.3.PATHS Use this to set the paths (ie. where your files are located). Click on any entry, and you can set the path using the fileselector. The last entry in this menu, "LAST PATH", is special. When chosen (checked), the last path used when saving or loading will be the default path, instead of the one preset in the above menu choices. A separate path is maintained for saving and loading if "LAST PATH" is selected. 13.4.OPTIONS 13.4.1.HELP Switches the HELP option on/off. Checked when active. 13.4.2.SMALL COPY When selected, this will construct a small copy of a large picture in its move box. This is handy for seeing where in a large picture you currently are. Be aware, though, that this slows down menu access, as the small copy must be reconstructed to reflect any changes to the picture. Checked when active. 13.4.3.PACK PICTURES IN MEMORY MUNCH has the rather unique option to pack pictures in memory. All pictures except large pictures in buffer 1 and the current picture will be packed in memory. This means that 100 pictures coud be loaded in a 2 meg machine. That's 3.2 meg of picture data PLUS the program itself! The only drawback is that it slows down the switching between the buffers some, but not by much. Choosing this option will present you with an alert: ALWAYS, NEVER and ASK. This is to determine what Munch should do; ALWAYS pack pictures in memory, NEVER do it, or ASK you each time you start the program. Changes will ONLY take effect the next time you run the program, and ONLY if you use "SAVE MUNCH.DEF" (see 13.2.1.) after this selection. 13.4.4.EXTENDED INFORMATION When this option is selected, extended information will be displayed while drawing on the work screen. The nature of this information depends on the tool used. Typical examples are height, width, radius, and degree of rotation. It will be shown in degrees where appropriate, or either pixels or ABSOLUTE measurements (mm,cm or inches see 13.4.5.) where that is appropriate. By pressing while on the work screen, this option can be switched on/off while drawing. Checked when active. 13.4.5.ABSOLUTE RULER If selected, mouse coordinates and extended information (see 13.4.4.) will be shown as ABSOLUTE measurement instead of pixel values. The notation (mm,cm, or inches can be set in the SPECIAL menu (see 10.14.), as can the values (ex: cm per pixel). By pressing while on the work screen, this option can be switched on/off while drawing. Checked when active. 13.4.6.COMPATIBILITY (GET/PUT) Munch normally use GFA's GET, PUT and RC_COPY commands. The TT and Falcon (when using certain system enhancements) do not take to kindly to these, so selecting this option will instead revert to the BITBLT- command. The penalty for doing so is a slight speed decrease in some functions (mostly effects). Checked when active. 13.4.7.DISABLE SETTINGS IN MNC-FILE When you save pictures in Munch's native format, *.MNC, you are asked if you want to save the current settings with (imbedded in) the picture file. When this is selected, you will never be asked, and the settings will NOT be saved. Checked when active. 13.4.8.FREE RAM Shows the amount of free RAM left. 14.GRAPHS MENU--------------------------------------------------- This may be a strange feature to include in an art program, but it IS graphics, so there! Currently, there is a limit of six entries in both the pie and bar graph. This may be increased in a later version of Munch. 14.1.LABELS Click anywhere in the labels box, and you can input all graph labels from the keyboard. steps the input mode to the next label. When all labels have been typed in, pressing will exit the input mode. If you want to cancel the operation, just click any of the mousebuttons. 14.2.BAR GRAPH VALUES Click on the individual bar value that you want to change. Type in the value in the INPUT box. There is a maximum of five digits including any point. To exit, press , or click any mousebutton. 14.3.PIE GRAPH VALUES Use the arrow keys to in- or decrease each percentage value. Slice number 6 will always equal 100%-(slice 1 to 5). 14.4.TXT This button, apart from being the box for inputting bar values, will let you access the TEXT MENU. The settings in the text menu (see 8.) will affect the printing of labels and values on the work screen. 14.5.GRAPH FILLS These display the individual fills that will be used for each bar or slice in the graph. To change one of them, click on the one you want to change. The fill pattern menu (see 9.) wil now be called and you may make your selection. To return, press the right mousebutton. 14.6.DRAW BAR GRAPH Clicking this button (bar graph icon) will let you draw first the bar graph, and then the label and values box. The drawing procedure is the same as used in the standard tools. To draw on the whole page, if the picture is larger than the screen, hold while clicking on this button. 14.7.DRAW PIE GRAPH Identical to 14.6.DRAW BAR GRAPH, except it lets you draw the PIE graph. 15.COPY MENU----------------------------------------------------- Determines the copy mode of an operation. Shortcuts are . 1 - COPY SOURCE TO DESTINATION is a simple replace copy. 6 - MIX: source OR destination is a transparent copy. In total there are 11 copy modes. They are based on boolean logic. If you do not understand this, experiment to see the effects. If you DO understand boolean logic, experiment anyway. The copying modes are a powerful part of Munch. 16.HISTORY------------------------------------------------------- 0.9 Date: 02.05.94 - First (limited) release BETA version w. norwegian LAN-file only 0.95 Date: 27.06.94 - limited release: Bug in zoom/large pic/no NVDI fixed Bug in load IMG as block fixed Rotating Yin/Yang changed to incremental status bar Error in one of the gradient patterns fixed Cosmetic bug in perspective effect for large pics fixed Bug in window-effect for large pics fixed Option for replacing GET/PUT width BITBIT added for better compatibility with the TT & OUTSIDE on the FALCON SGET/SPUT replaced with BMOVE Filename is now displayed when serial loading or when youºre loading a directory Backlight effect added to effects menu Gradient effect added to effects menu Outline shadow effect added to effects menu Bitblit-routines for effects on large pictures optimized Some grouping of the effects on the effects menu done MUNCH.DEF-file changed to incorporate gradient effect parameters Select sets of ten picture buffers with SHIFT+F1 to F10 added AND-effect optimized for less memory consumption Spotlight effect added Intro-screen & desktop graphics changed Fill now works on pics larger than 640*400 Block Fill now works on pics larger than 640*400 1.0 Date: 13.07.94 Full release (at last!:-) RC_COPY replaced with BITBLT as option (same as with GET/PUT) Fountain pen tool added Spray fur dots (bullet holes?) added Small bug in draw routines fixed Gradient Fil for 640*400 pics optimized & improved Gradient Fill now works on pics larger than 640*400 Bug in rescale large pic/graphmode fixed *.MNC (MUNCH) graphic files can now include MUNCH parameters (old *.MNC files can still be loaded) Bug in menu "droptrough" on 'save icon' fixed Sluggish mouse response in 'save icon' fixed 1.1 Date: 12.08.94 Bug fixed update. DOC's finished!!! :-) Bug in Diamond Shape fixed Incompatibility with Let ºem Fly fixed (bug in GFA...) SLOWDRAW improved Bug in gradient segment ellipse concerning large canvases (>640*400) fixed 16.THE FUTURE---------------------------------------------------- I have already started to work on version 2 of Munch. It will be totally redesigned, and will have an enhanced GEM interface. It should be able to run on large screens and color monitors, although it will still be a mono program. The code will be rewritten. More tools and effects will be available. It will be fully compatible with multitasking systems. It will hopefully be less memory hungry, or may use some sort of virtual memory/paging. All picture buffers can contain pictures of any size (only restricted by memory).I will consider making it modular. If I can find any documentation on the subject, scanner support will be added. Munch 2 will be FREE to all registered users! If you have any ideas for things that should be included in Munch, or things that should be done differently, please write to me at the adress below. All suggestions will be considered. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Thats it, folks! Experiment & have fun! DISCLAIMER: Although I have tested this program and have found no bugs, I WILL TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE! If you have any ideas, tips, hints or questions regarding this program, GFA programming or life in general, please write to: Vegard Hofs³y Elvegata 8 7013 Trondheim NORWAY