ICONEDIT 3A V2.0 FREEWARE VERSION Copyright 1995 Stephen Robertson 106 All Saints Road, Gravesend, Kent, DA11 8RN, ENGLAND DISTRIBUTION ICONEDIT 3A V2.0 FREEWARE VERSION is freely distributable to anyone so long as it is is distributed in UNMODIFIED FORM along with this unmodified readme file, and so long as no fees are charged. DISCLAIMER THE PROGRAM IS PROVIDED "AS-IS". NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARE MADE AS TO IT OR ANY MEDIUM IT MAY BE ON. THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY CONSEQUENCES OF THE INSTALLATION AND USE OF THE PROGRAM REST WITH THE USER. COMMENTS I've tested Version 2.0 of ICONEDIT 3A thoroughly, but it's quite likely that one or two bugs have slipped past me. If you find any then please let me know. Also, If you have any other comments regarding ICONEDIT 3A, such as ideas for new features, or improvments or even just to say that you like it and use it a lot, then please contact me by writing to the above address. Though IconEdit 3a V2.0 is freeware, if you really like the program and use it a lot, then sending me £5 will make my day. The more positive feedback (and cash!) I get, the more likely it is that I'll update ICONEDIT 3A, and include new features. WHAT IS ICONEDIT 3A? It's a utility written in OPL especially for the Psion Series 3a that allows you to create icons and other bitmaps for your own programs or for other utilities. The original version (1.1c) took me three months to write and comprised approx. 35k of source code. It was released in 1994 as shareware. This new version (2.0) has taken me about three months to write, and comprises approx. 56k of source code. Both versions were coded entirely on a 512k Psion Series 3a, and were written almost entirely on the train while commuting to and from work! WHAT'S NEW IN VERSION 2.0? Version 2.0 is virtually a total rewrite of version 1.1c. Below is a brief list of improvements/added features: Improved: Redraw times approx 50% quicker. Drawing and line drawing faster. Program can now be installed on any drive and in any directory. Load file requester now works properly with SSDs. Help now goes back to previous screen if Esc pressed. Various small bugs fixed. Added: Partial re-draw. Copy. Cut. Paste. Paste over. Copy window. Load/save of bitmaps < 48x48 with 1 or 2 bitplanes. Spare window. Circle mode. Filled circle mode. Pattern Fill mode. Pattern Fill (Overwrite) mode. Text mode. Removed: Draw mode menu option and key - it was redundant. HOW DO I INSTALL IT? * Copy the ICONEDV2.OPA to the APP directory on any Psion drive. (Actually you can install it in any directory, but it's best to install it in the APP directory for consitency's sake.) * Make a directory in the same APP dir, called ICONED3A. (or create this directory in the same directory where you copied the ICONEDV2.OPA) * Copy the two cursor bitmap files CURSOR-A.CRS and CURSOR-B.CRS, and the two OPO files ICONED-1.OPO and ICONED-2.OPO into the ICONED3A directory you just created. * If you haven't got a PIC directory, then ICONED3A will create one in the root directory of your internal psion drive (M:), but if you wish to save icons on external SSDs, then create a PIC directory in the root directory of each SSD you wish to save icons to. * Finally, select INSTALL from the APPS menu and select ICONEDV2.OPA N.B. If you've got ICONEDIT 3A v1.1c (ICONED3A.OPA) already installed on your Psion then you'll need to remove it from your system screen before you can install ICONEDV2.OPA. The ICONEDIT 3A icon should then appear, with a file list below it if you already have a PIC directory and .PIC files. HOW MUCH MEMORY DOES IT NEED? The actual ICONEDIT 3A OPA takes up about 26k of disk space. When running ICONEDIT 3A uses about 57k of memory. WHAT TYPE OF FILES DOES IT USE? It loads and saves 48x48 bitmaps with both a black an grey plane. The file extension it uses is .PIC, and these files are saved in a PIC directory in the root directory of A, B or the internal disk. Using the load/save copy window function you can load/save bitmaps less than 48x48 pixels in size, and with one or two bitplanes. (This is useful for developing sprites for other applications.) HOW DO I RUN ICONEDIT 3A? ICONEDIT 3A runs and uses files in exactly the same way as the other standard psion applications. To run it select the ICONEDIT 3A icon on the system screen, and press ENTER. If there are no .PIC files then ICONEDIT 3A will create one called ICONED3A.PIC when it is run. If there are .PIC files then ICONEDIT 3A will display a list of them below its icon, and you may select one of these and press ENTER to run the program and load the file. If you wish to create a new PIC file, you may do so using the FILE menu on the system screen, or do so within the program. SCREEN LAYOUT The large window with a grid on the left of the screen is the EDIT window. This is a magnified version of the DRAW window which is displayed next to it. Most drawing actions take place in the EDIT window, and are also displayed in the DRAW window simultaneously. The UNDO window shows what picture would replace the one in the DRAW window, if the UNDO function were used. The COPY window shows the current contents of the copy 'clipboard'. It has a stipple pattern behind it so that you can see how large the item in the COPY window is. The SPARE window is an alternate drawing window. It's useful as a scratchpad, and must be swapped with the DRAW window when you wish to use it. (SEE 'SWAP WITH SPARE') The ICON status window which is on the right of the DRAW window shows the current cursor coordinates plus the current drawing shade and the drawing mode. On the extreme right hand side of the screen is the application status window, as used by most Psion Series 3a applications. The diamond list has three items, BLACK, GREY and ERASE. The item with the diamond character next to it is the shade that ICONEDIT 3A is currently drawing in. HOW DO I USE ICONEDIT 3A? To move the drawing cursor around the screen press the cursor keys. If you press SHIFT+cursor the cursor will skip to the next grid space (4 pixels). If you press PSION+cursor, then the cursor will jump to the edge of the icon, in the direction indicated by the cursor. If you move the cursor off the edge of the EDIT window it will appear on the opposite side. To draw you have two methods: For continous drawing, hold down CONTROL and press the cursor keys. Wherever you move the cursor, pixels will be drawn. For fine work, use the TAB key, this draws singe pixels, and performs a toggle action - press once to set a pixel and again to clear it. The Esc key is used to abort dialogs and drawing modes. MENUS If you press the MENU button a menu will be displayed. FILE MENU NEW FILE - PSION+N Creates a new icon. The program will prompt you to confirm the new file if there are unsaved changes. OPEN ICON - PSION+O Loads in a new icon. The program will prompt you to confirm the open if there are unsaved changes. When the icon is loaded, the EDIT window is redrawn. With a complicated icon using both black and grey shades this may take a few seconds. SAVE - PSION+S Saves the current icon to the same file name. SAVE AS - PSION+A Saves the current icon to a new file. LOAD COPY WINDOW - SHIFT+PSION+L Loads a bitmap into the copy window. This bitmap can be called a completely different name from the current icon name. Either the black, or black and grey bitmaps can be loaded. ICONEDIT 3A tells you the dimensions of the bitmap when loaded. SAVE COPY WINDOW - SHIFT+PSION+S Saves the contents of the copy window to a file. Either the black, or black and grey planes can be saved. The filename can be completely different from the current icon file name. ICONEDIT 3A tells you the dimensions of the bitmap in its save dialog. EDIT MENU COPY - c or PSION+C Copies a selected area into the copy window. Both black and grey planes are copied. Selecting this mode, then moving the cursor causes a rubber band" box to be drawn between the original position and the cursor. Pressing ENTER causes the area to be copied into the COPY window. As in LINE mode, pressing ESC aborts the mode. CUT - C or SHIFT+PSION+C As for copy, but it erases the original copied area, thus 'cutting' it out and placing it in the COPY window. PASTE - p or PSION+P Pastes the contents of the copy window onto the icon. When you select this option a box will appear attached to the cursor. Move the cursor until the box is in the right location, and press ENTER to paste. Any blank (white) pixels will not be drawn, so if paste is used over an area that already contains pixels, then the two areas will merge. If there is nothing in the copy window, then this mode will show an error message. N.B.: when pasting grey remember that black appears IN FRONT of grey, so pasting grey pixels over black will show BLACK, not grey. PASTE OVER - P or SHIFT+PSION+P The same as paste, but this time it draws blank pixels. MODE MENU ICONEDIT 3A works in MODES. It starts off in DRAW MODE, where pixels may be drawn, but other drawing modes are selectable. ICONEDIT 3A defaults to DRAW MODE after completing/aborting an action in any other mode. LINE MODE - l or PSION+L This mode allows you to draw straight lines between any two points in any shade. If you select this mode, then when you next move the cursor a "rubber band" line will be drawn between the start point and the cursor in the EDIT window. If you change your mind and wish to stop DRAW mode, then pressing ESC will place you back in DRAW mode. Pressing ENTER will cause a line to be plotted between the start position and cursor position on both the EDIT and DRAW windows. BOX MODE - b or PSION+B This mode draws hollow boxes in any shade between two corner positions. Selecting this mode then moving the cursor causes a rubber band" box to be drawn between the original position and the cursor. Pressing ENTER causes the box to be drawn in both the EDIT and DRAW windows. As in LINE mode, pressing ESC aborts the mode. FILLED BOX MODE - B or SHIFT+PSION+B Exactly the same as BOX mode, except the boxes are filled with the current shade. CIRCLE MODE - Q or PSION+Q Draws hollow circles. Like line this causes a rubber band line to be drawn between the start and cursor positions. This line is the RADIUS of the circle. Pressing ENTER will cause the circle to be drawn, and pressing ESC will ENTER to DRAW mode. FILLED CIRCLE MODE - Q or SHIFT+PSION+Q Just like hollow circle, except it draws filled circles. MORE MODES MENU BORDER MODE - O or SHIFT+PSION+O This allows you to draw Series 3/3a style 3d borders, and works the same way as BOX mode, except that when ENTER is pressed a dialog will appear. The dialog allows you to change the type of border drawn. Pressing ENTER will cause the border to be drawn in the DRAW WINDOW. The EDIT window will be refreshed to show the new border. PATTERN FILL - PSION+F Fills a rectangular area with repetitions of the COPY window. An error message is shown if you attempt to use this mode when there's nothing in the copy window. Like BOX mode, when selected a rubber band box is drawn between the start and cursor positions. Drag this box until it surrounds the area you wish to fill, then press ENTER to draw the pattern fill. Pressing ESC instead of ENTER aborts the mode, and returns to draw mode. N.B.: when pasting grey remember that black appears IN FRONT of grey, so pasting grey pixels over black will show BLACK, not grey. PATTERN FILL (OVERWRITE) - SHIFT+PSION+F The same as pattern fill, but it overwrites the area it is filling, so blank pixels are drawn. TEXT - t or PSION+T Plots text onto the screen in any of the system fonts & styles, and in any shade. Selecting this mode brings up a dialog box where you can type in your text and select the font and style. If the text won't fit in the width of the icon (48 pixels) an error message will be shown, and you can either modify the settings in the dialog, or press ESC to quit text mode. Once you have entered text in a font and style which will fit, pressing ENTER will then show a cursor which defines the height and width and position of the text. Place the cursor where you wish the text to be drawn and press ENTER to draw it, or ESC to abort and go back to DRAW mode. SPECIAL MENU GRID ON/OFF - g or PSION+G Toggles the visible grid on/off. Turning the grid off causes a partial re-draw, and so may take a couple of seconds. ERASE ICON - PSION+E Clears the EDIT and DRAW windows, thus erasing the current image. If there are unsaved changes you will be prompted to confirm it. SWAP WITH SPARE - SHIFT+PSION+W Swaps the contents of the DRAW and SPARE windows. This allows you to use the spare window as a 'scratch pad'. You can copy from one window to the other by copying the area, swapping the windows, then pasting. IMPORTANT: The filename does not change when you swap the SPARE and DRAW windows - be careful not to save the wrong window over your icon file! STORE TO UNDO Copies the DRAW window to the UNDO window, so that you have a backup that you can restore using UNDO. This is done automatically for you every time you draw a line, box, filled box, circle, filled circle, etc. and when you erase the icon. It's a good idea to do a STORE TO UNDO before doing any drawing in DRAW mode, as drawing pixels in this mode doesn't trigger a STORE TO UNDO. UNDO - u or PSION+U Copies the undo window to the draw window and redraws the EDIT window, thus undoing any changes since the last "STORE TO UNDO" EXIT, LOSE CHANGES - SHIFT+PSION+X Quits ICONEDIT3A without saving the icon. If there are any unsaved changes you will be asked to confirm this. EXIT - PSION+X Quits ICONEDIT 3A, saving any changes. DIAMOND MENU DRAW BLACK - + Set current shade to black for draw, line, box and filled BOX modes This may be done in any mode, even while a "rubber band" box or line is shown. DRAW GREY - - As above, but sets shade to grey. ERASE - / As above, but sets shade to white (erase). ICONEDIT 3A KEY REFERENCE Where more than one key is available for a particular function the alternatives are separated by commas; e.g. PSION+G, g MENU - Display menu HELP - Display Help menu DIAMOND - Change shade forwards SHIFT+DIAMOND - Change shade backwards CURSOR KEYS - Move cursor CURSOR+SHIFT - Move cursor 1 grid (4 pixels) CURSOR+PSION - Move cursor to edge of EDIT window CURSOR+CONTROL - Draw pixels in current shade while moving the cursor. TAB - Toggle single pixel in current shade PSION++, + - Select Black PSION+-, - - Select Grey PSION+/, / - Select Erase PSION+N - New Icon PSION+O - Open Icon PSION+S - Save Icon PSION+A - Save Icon as new filename PSION+C, c - Copy area SHIFT+PSION+C, C - Cut area PSION+P, p - Paste area SHIFT+PSION+P, P - Paste over area PSION+L, l - Start Line mode PSION+B, b - Start Box mode SHIFT+PSION+B, B - Start filled Box Mode PSION+Q, q - Start Circle mode SHIFT+PSION+Q, Q - Start Filled Circle mode SHIFT+PSION+O, O - Start Border mode PSION+F, f - Start Pattern Fill mode SHIFT+PSION+F - Start Pattern Fill (overwrite) mode. PSION+T, t - Start Text mode ENTER - Activate mode operation (e.g. draw line, box) ESC - Abort mode operation (e.g. quit line mode) PSION+G, g - Toggle visible grid on/off PSION+E - Erase current icon SHIFT+PSION+W, w - Swap DRAW window with SPARE window SHIFT+PSION+S - Store icon to UNDO window SHIFT+PSION+X - Exit ICONEDIT 3A, without saving changes PSION+X - Exit ICONEDIT 3A, saving changes