README FILE (SHAREWARE VERSION) A COMPLETE MANUAL IS INCLUDED WITH THE FULL-FEATURED VERSION. This readme file is provided to assist you while using STAMP PAD. Reading this file prior to using STAMP PAD is not necessary. After following the installation instructions (below), type STAMP in DOS while in the c:\STAMPPAD directory OR select the STAMP PAD icon in Windows to begin the program. Thanks for using STAMP PAD. Note: When selecting an item within the program, place the mouse cursor over the button or item you want to select and press the left mouse button. Only the left mouse button is used throughout the program. INSTRUCTIONS FOR STAMP PAD Copyright 1993 DATAWARE P.O. Box 64211, Lubbock, Texas 79464-4211 STAMP PAD IS The paint program... fun enough for kids powerful enough for programmers * Create pictures--then erase characters and re-position them for creative fun. * Design buildings, vehicles, and landscapes. * Duplicate video game characters and action scenes. * Programmers: Design graphics for your own games or other programs. CONTENTS INSTALLATION System Requirements Simple Installation Windows Installation DOS Installation GETTING STARTED Title Screen Ordering Information Menu USING THE PROGRAM Create Stamps Use Stamps File Deletions ADVANCED FEATURES File Management Edit Icons Programmer Tools Blank Stamps and Backgrounds USER EXCHANGE Stamp Exchange Your Comments INSTALLATION If your shareware version of STAMP PAD is on a disk, follow the instructions below. If you downloaded your shareware version from a bulletin board, adjust these instructions by disregarding the text "original disk" and locating the file STAMPPAD.EXE in the directory you stored it (instead of drive A). SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS IBM PC or compatible (386 or better recommended), with color VGA monitor, mouse, and 2 MB of hard disk space (hard disk requirements will vary depending on graphic images saved). SIMPLE INSTALLATION If you are an experienced computer user, use these instructions. If you are not, follow either the Windows or DOS installation instructions that follow. To quickly install STAMP PAD, create a directory called STAMPPAD on your hard disk and copy the file, STAMPPAD.EXE to this directory. Run the self-extracting file by typing, STAMPPAD. Then type STAMP to begin using the program. If you use Windows, a STAMP PAD icon is provided (STAMP.ICO). WINDOWS INSTALLATION To install STAMP PAD, select "File Manager" (usually in the program group called "Accessories") and be sure drive A (icon in top left-hand corner) is selected. Select "View" from the menu at the top and then select "Tree and Directory." Select the file, STAMPPAD.EXE on the right-hand side of the screen. Press F8 to copy the contents of the original disk to a directory. Type: C:\STAMPPAD Select STAMPPAD directory on the left side of the screen. Select STAMPPAD.EXE on the right side of the screen. Double-click mouse button or press Enter. Windows will run a DOS window for STAMPPAD.EXE to expand the files. When it is complete, it will return to the "File Manager" window. Exit "File Manager." Next, add the STAMP PAD icon. Select "File" from top menu. Then select, "New...." Select "Program Item," then OK. Type: Description: Stamp Pad Command Line: C:\STAMPPAD\STAMP.EXE Working Directory: C:\STAMPPAD Select "Change Icon." When "Change Icon" message appears, select OK. Then select "Browse." Select Directories: C:\ (double click mouse) stamppad File name: stamp.ico Select OK. When "Change Icon" window re-appears, select OK. When "Program Item Properties" re-appears, select OK. Installation is now complete. To use STAMP PAD, double-click your mouse on the STAMP PAD icon. If you have problems with Windows commands, consult your Windows manual for a complete explanation. DOS INSTALLATION To install STAMP PAD, make a directory on your hard disk called STAMPPAD. From the root directory type: C:> CD\ C:> MD STAMPPAD Change to the STAMPPAD directory. C:> CD \STAMPPAD Insert the STAMP PAD disk into drive A, then copy the contents of the provided disk to the STAMPPAD directory: C:\STAMPPAD> COPY A:*.* The files for STAMP PAD are contained in a self extracting file called STAMPPAD.EXE. Type STAMPPAD at the DOS prompt to extract and expand all of the required files automatically. C:\STAMPPAD> STAMPPAD Installation is now complete. Type STAMP to begin using STAMP PAD. C:\STAMPPAD\> STAMP If you have problems with DOS commands, consult your DOS manual for a complete explanation. GETTING STARTED TITLE SCREEN Press the start button on the title screen to begin using STAMP PAD. Press the order button to see ordering instructions for STAMP PAD. (Pressing any key on the keyboard will also start the program.) ORDERING INFORMATION To print an order form, make sure your printer is connected and on line, then select "Print Order Form." If problems arise when printing the order form, you can load the file ORDER.TXT into your word processor and print it from there. MENU The three choices on the main menu are "Instructions," "Create Stamps," and "Use Stamps." Press the button of your choice. INSTRUCTION BUTTON The instruction section has a brief overview on how to use STAMP PAD. Refer to this file for detailed information (the full-featured version of STAMP PAD includes a complete manual). Select the "Next" button at the top right or press any key to proceed to the next page. The last page has an "Exit" button at the top. CREATE STAMPS BUTTON The "Create Stamps" section is for making or editing "electronic" stamps for use on the backgrounds ("electronic paper") in the "Use Stamps" section. USE STAMPS BUTTON The "Use Stamps" section contains background drawings for editing, freehand drawing, or placing stamps. It also contains blank pages for creating new backgrounds. USING THE PROGRAM CREATE STAMPS In the "Create Stamps" section, you create or edit stamps on a grid that enlarges the stamp. Each square on the grid represents one pixel on the screen. (A pixel is one dot on your monitor's screen.) The actual size of the stamp is shown in the area between the "Load" and "Save" buttons. A set of stamps is displayed in the file area on the right side of the screen. Use the arrow buttons to view other stamps within this file or press the "File" button to load other stamp files. To load a stamp, press the "Load" button. Then move your mouse cursor over the stamp you want to load and press the left mouse button. Edit the stamp using the tools and colors of your choice. If you leave a grid square blank, the color "transparent" is displayed (a white grid square with a light gray center). Any part of a stamp that is colored with transparent or left blank, will be clear (not white). That means when you place a stamp on a background, the background will show through. The tools are located on the left side of the screen and the color palette at the bottom. EXIT BUTTON Pressing the exit button will return you to the main menu. BOMB BUTTON Pressing the bomb button clears the grid and replaces all of the squares with the transparent color. DOT BUTTON Pressing the dot button activates the drawing tool that enables you to draw dot by dot. Hold the mouse button down to draw continuous dots. ERASE BUTTON Pressing the erase button activates the eraser tool. It erases each square on the grid that is selected. Holding down the mouse button provides continual erasing as you move the mouse. When a square on the grid is erased, it is filled with the transparent color. Another way to erase an area is to select the fill tool and the transparent color. This is useful for irregular shaped areas. FILL BUTTON Pressing the fill button activates the fill tool. The fill tool will fill an area with the color that is currently selected. The area that will be filled is the group of squares of the same color surrounding the selected square. The fill will continue outward in the horizontal and vertical directions until a different color is encountered. VERTICAL FLIP BUTTON Pressing the vertical flip button will flip the entire grid area upside down. Press the button again and the whole grid will be flipped back to its original position. The image will continue to flip each time you press the button. HORIZONTAL FLIP BUTTON Pressing the horizontal flip button will flip the entire grid area sideways. Press the button again and the whole grid will be flipped back to its original position. The image will continue to flip each time you press the button. LINE BUTTON Pressing the line button activates the line drawing tool. The line drawing tool will draw a line between two selected points. Select a square on the grid by pressing (and releasing) the left mouse button. Now move the mouse cursor to another grid location. When another grid square is selected, press the mouse button again and the line will be drawn with the selected color. RECTANGLE BUTTON Pressing the rectangle button activates the rectangle drawing tool. The rectangle drawing tool will draw a rectangle between two selected points. Select a square on the grid by pressing (and releasing) the left mouse button. This defines one corner of the rectangle. Now move the mouse cursor to another grid location until the rectangle is the size and shape you want, then press the mouse button again and the rectangle will be drawn with the selected color. CIRCLE BUTTON Pressing the circle button activates the circle drawing tool. The circle drawing tool will draw a circle between two selected points. Select a square on the grid by pressing (and releasing) the left mouse button. This defines the top of the circle (or bottom, depending on the direction you are drawing). Now move the mouse cursor to another grid location until the circle is the size you want, then press the mouse button again and the circle will be drawn with the selected color. COLOR PALETTE Across the bottom of the screen are the color palettes. The first nine colors (on the left) are the most commonly used colors and therefore are always present. The second group of nine colors (on the right) are shades of the first nine colors with one exception. The first color of the shade palette is the transparent color. It is represented by a grid-like section. Use it like any other color, but any dot (pixel) that contains transparent will be clear when the stamp is placed on a background. Transparent can be used with the fill tool for quick erasures. To select a color, press the button that is the color you want to use. Press an arrow beside the palette, to select another palette. LOAD BUTTON Pressing the load button allows the selecting of a stamp displayed in the file area. As the mouse cursor is moved across the stamps, the selectable stamp is highlighted by a red border. Pressing the mouse button while on the stamp will load the stamp into the small screen and the large grid so it can be edited. The stamp also remains in the file section and does not change unless you save over it. SAVE BUTTON When you want to save your current changes, select the save button. Then move your mouse cursor to the file area and select a position where you want to save your stamp. A stamp can be saved multiple times to any of the 2,250 possible stamp locations. You may want to save your stamp to two different locations while working on it just in case you accidently overwrite it or you decide you like an earlier version of it better. Because it is so easy to save stamps, you will want to save frequently to avoid mistakes. Saving is permanent, so be sure to backup important stamps in another directory or on a diskette. Stamp files are identified by *.stp. See "File Management" for more information. FILE ARROWS The file arrows select different stamp pages. FILE BUTTON Pressing the file button displays a menu for selecting other group of stamps. Selecting a file icon will load that group of stamps. USE STAMPS The "Use Stamps" section gives you a large drawing area--your electronic paper. Place stamps or use drawing tools from the menu at the top of the screen to create all kinds of pictures. EXIT BUTTON The exit button will return you to the main menu. TOOLS The tools button brings up the tools menu. When you are finished selecting a tool and/or color press the left mouse button anywhere but on the tools or colors and the menu disappears. BOMB BUTTON Pressing the bomb button clears the screen. DOT BUTTON Pressing the dot button activates the drawing tool that enables you to draw dot by dot. Hold the mouse button down to draw continuous dots. To draw with thicker dots, make a stamp of a thick dot and use the stamp as your drawing tool (for instance 4 by 4 pixels). ERASE BUTTON Pressing the erase button activates the eraser tool. It erases the area covered by the square mouse cursor. Holding down the mouse button provides continual erasing while you move the mouse. When an area is erased, it is filled with the transparent color. Another way to erase an area is to select the fill tool and the transparent color. This is useful for irregular shaped areas. FILL BUTTON Pressing the fill button activates the fill tool. The fill tool will fill an area with the color that is currently selected. The area that will be filled is the area surrounding the color that is selected with the mouse cursor. The fill will continue outward in the horizontal and vertical directions until a different color is encountered. SCISSORS BUTTON Pressing the scissors button activates the cut and paste tool. This function selects an area to be deleted, copied, or flipped. Press the mouse button when the cursor is at the corner of the area you want to select then release the mouse button. Move the mouse cursor to the opposite corner of the area you want to select, then press the mouse button again. The area will be surrounded with red dashed lines and the cut and paste menu will appear. Now you can either cut (and later paste, if needed), copy, or flip the marked area. If you want to leave the cut and paste menu without cutting or copying, press the mouse button with the cursor anywhere but on the cut and paste menu. CUT BUTTON Pressing the cut button "cuts" (deletes) the marked area from the drawing area. Your mouse cursor then becomes the cut-out area. Pressing the left mouse button draws the cut area to the screen in that position. Holding the mouse button while moving the cut area to various areas on the screen, repeatedly draws the copied area. You can change pages or groups of backgrounds while the cut area is active and place it on different pages. The entire drawing area (the whole page) can be moved to another page in this manner. COPY BUTTON Pressing the copy button copies the marked area and attaches it to your mouse cursor. Pressing the left mouse button draws the copied area to the screen in that position. Holding the mouse button while moving the copied area to various areas on the screen, repeatedly draws the copied area. You can change pages or groups of backgrounds while the copied area is active and place it on different pages. The entire drawing area (the whole page) can be copied to another page in this manner. This is a good way to backup your favorite drawings or modify an existing background without deleting the original. (NOTE: The save function is available only on the full-featured version.) VERTICAL FLIP BUTTON Pressing the vertical flip button will flip the marked area upside down. Press the button again and the area will be flipped back to its original position. The image will continue to flip each time you press the button. HORIZONTAL FLIP BUTTON Pressing the horizontal flip button will flip the marked area sideways. Press the button again and the area will be flipped back to its original position. The image will continue to flip each time you press the button. DISKETTE BUTTON Pressing the diskette button will save the marked area to an ASCII file on your hard disk. The file will be called ASCII.TXT. This function converts the color of each pixel to its ASCII hexadecimal equivalent and creates a file that can be merged into an assembly language program. See "Programmer Tools" for further information. LINE BUTTON Pressing the line button activates the line drawing tool. The line drawing tool will draw a line (one pixel in width) between two selected points. Select a starting position by pressing (and releasing) the left mouse button. Now move the mouse cursor to another location. When the line is the length you want, press the mouse button again and the line will be drawn with the selected color. To draw thicker lines, draw two or more lines beside each other. RECTANGLE BUTTON Pressing the rectangle button activates the rectangle drawing tool. The rectangle drawing tool will draw a rectangle (one pixel in width) between two selected points. Select a starting position by pressing (and releasing) the left mouse button. This defines one corner of the rectangle. Now move the mouse cursor to another location until the rectangle is the size and shape you want, then press the mouse button again and the rectangle will be drawn with the selected color. To draw thicker rectangles, draw one inside (or outside) of the other and use the fill tool to fill in the area between the rectangles. CIRCLE BUTTON Pressing the circle button activates the circle drawing tool. The circle drawing tool will draw a circle (one pixel in width) between two selected points. Select a starting position by pressing (and releasing) the left mouse button. This defines the top of the circle (or bottom, depending on the direction you are drawing). Now move the mouse cursor to another location until the circle is the size you want, then press the mouse button again and the circle will be drawn with the selected color. To draw thicker circles, draw one inside (or outside) of the other and use the fill tool to fill in the area between the circles. COLOR PALETTE Across the bottom of the screen are the color palettes. The first nine colors (on the left) are the most commonly used colors. The second group of nine colors (on the right) are shades of the first nine colors with one exception. The first color of the shade palette is the "transparent" color. It is represented by a grid-like section. Use it like any other color, but any area that is transparent will allow the background to show through if this area is cut and pasted. Transparent can be used with the fill tool for quick erasures. To select a color, press the button that is the color you want to use. Press an arrow beside the palette, to select another palette. STAMPS Pressing the stamp button brings up the same set of stamps as in the "Create Stamps" section. Select a stamp by placing your cursor over the stamp you want and pressing the mouse button. Other groups of stamps can be selected by pressing the file button. When you select a stamp, it becomes your cursor. You can then move the stamp around the screen and place it anywhere in the drawing area by pressing the mouse button. Multiple copies of the stamp can be drawn by holding down the mouse button as you move the stamp. The stamp can be moved right up to the edge of the screen, but it may appear that the stamp will not go to the edge of the screen if only a small area of the stamp has been filled in. This is because the stamp is 32 by 32 pixels no matter what the size of the actual image is. If you need to place a stamp right on the edge of the screen and it is centered in the stamp, re-position the image on the stamp. You can do this by stamping the stamp on a page and then placing the magnifying tool over the image so that the image is on the edge of the stamp. Then save it as a new stamp or save over the old one. Another option is to use the cut and paste function to place the stamp. Stamps can also be used to make customized drawing tools. Begin by drawing a pattern in a stamp, such as a few dots of different colors, then hold down the mouse button while drawing with the stamp. The stamp will be continuously stamped on the background creating the effect of a line or different shape depending on the design of the stamp. MAGNIFY BUTTON Pressing the magnifying button activates the magnifying tool. Use this function when you want to work on part of your background at a closer view. This is useful for filling in small areas or drawing small details. To zoom in on an area, place the red dashed square (32 by 32 pixels) over a selected area and then press the mouse button. You can then edit this area with the same functionality as though you were in the "Create Stamps" section. Whatever image is in the grid will be on your background drawing when you press the exit button. You can also use the magnifying tool to re-position stamps or create new ones. Place the red dashed square over a section of your drawing and then press the mouse button. You can then save this section as a stamp. Another function of the magnifying tool is to merge small stamps into a larger one. For example, four 16 by 16 pixel stamps can become one 32 by 32 pixel stamp. To do this, first stamp the smaller stamps on top and beside each other on a background page. Then magnify the area. The area can then be saved as a stamp. COLOR WINDOW The color window is not a selectable item. The currently selected color is displayed there. FILE ARROWS Pressing the file arrows changes pages within a background group so you can select a page to draw on. An additional function of changing pages is deleting unwanted drawings before you save a page. SAVE BUTTON The save button saves your drawing on the currently selected page. To save the background on a different page, use the cut and paste tool. Cut or copy the entire page, select a new page, then press the mouse button. Then press the save button again. Saving is permanent, so be sure to copy your favorite drawings to additional pages. Backgrounds are identified by *.bkg. See "File Management" for more information. (NOTE: This function is available only on the full-featured version.) FILE BUTTON Pressing the file button displays a menu for selecting another group of backgrounds. Selecting a file icon will load that group of backgrounds. FILE DELETIONS Information on what to do should file deletion occur is provided in the manual that is included with the full-featured version. ADVANCED FEATURES FILE MANAGEMENT Information on file management is provided in the manual that is included with the full-featured version. EDIT ICONS Information on how to edit icons is provided in the manual that is included with the full-featured version. PROGRAMMER TOOLS Included on the STAMP PAD disk is an additional file that explains and illustrates how to use STAMP PAD to incorporate graphics into assembly language programs. SAMPLE.ASM shows how to use ASCII.TXT (the file that is made with the diskette function in the "Use Stamps" section). The compiled version SAMPLE.EXE is also included. The full-featured version of STAMP PAD includes a file, SAMPLE2.ASM that provides the source code and instructions for displaying the stamp and background files. Source code for changing DAC colors is also included with the full-featured version. BLANK STAMPS AND BACKGROUNDS Included with the full-featured version of STAMP PAD is a set of blank stamps and backgrounds. Instructions for installing these files in also included. USER EXCHANGE STAMP EXCHANGE After you purchase the full-featured version of STAMP PAD, you may want to exchange stamp and background sets with your friends or upload them to bulletin boards. Instructions and a file to include with your graphics are included with the full-featured version. If you would like for us to upload your STAMP PAD graphics to some of our favorite bulletin boards, we will do so. Instructions on how to send us your files are included with the full-featured version.. We will also upload stamp and background sets to bulletin boards periodically, so check for new sets to download. YOUR COMMENTS Your comments are welcome. Let us know what features you would like to see in future upgrades of STAMP PAD. List any problems you had while using STAMP PAD (hopefully none) and we will improve future versions. Write to us at: DATAWARE - P.O. Box 64211 - Lubbock, TX 79464-4211. We hope you enjoy using Stamp Pad!