************************************************************************** *** *** *** Take ONE - Version 2.0 - Shareware Version *** *** Extra Info *** ************************************************************************** Contents: 1) General information about Take ONE 2) Advice for demo animations 3) Hints 4) File formats 5) Advice for various graphic cards 6) Developers info ************************************************************************** 1) General Information about Take ONE Take ONE is a graphics program with which you can edit bitmaps in a simple, but powerful environment and create simple or complex animations. Take ONE supports bitmaps with 2, 16 or 256 colors. For editing frames with Take ONE all the usual tools are available and in addition pen widths from 1-8 pixels and freely definable fill patterns. So created frame sequences can be used to create animations. Up to 8 different frame sequences can be used per animation each with up to 256 frames. These picture sequences are the basis for up to 16 animated objects which can all move simultaneously. Definition of frame cycles makes it possible to create interactive animations and to add sound. With this shareware version you can test out the features of Take ONE however if you intend to use it on a regular basis for creating animations or editing bitmaps then you must register. You will then receive the full (licensed) version which has further features for frame editing and animation creation. With the full version you can also use your animations as screen savers, desktop animations (i.e. in the background) or as a program starter. To order the full version send your check or money order for $40 plus $5 shipping and handling to: Pearl America Inc. 4128½ California Ave SW Seattle, WA 98116 Tel: +1 206-938-0336 Fax: +1 206-938-0338 CIS: 71154,505 WA state residents please add 8.2% sales tax! ************************************************************************** 2) Advise for Demo Animations Some of the demo animations are created with 256 colors and thus when played in a graphic mode which only supports 16 colors there will be an evident loss of quality. Thus a graphic driver which supports 256 colors should be installed in Windows (see point 5). To get the full effect of the Radio animation a sound card is recommended. Without a sound card and its driver installed in Windows the sounds will not be heard. If you have no sound card it is possible to install a sound driver for the PC's internal speaker which will enable the sounds to be heard, at low quality and for only short duration. ************************************************************************** 3) Hints In order to bring a region of a frame into the edit window it's more convenient to click it with the RIGHT button on the film reel rather than using the scroll bars. To position the mouse cursor more accurately within the edit window the cursor keys can be used. In 256 color mode only 16 colors can be in the palette window at one time. To select a different color simply double click any color you don't need (except black and white) and you will get the whole choice of all 256 usable colors. The selected color will then replace the color that was double-clicked. Otherwise to select a color used in the frame into the palette window, a pixel in the desired color must be clicked while holding the SHIFT-button down. Usually Take ONE uses a standard palette when loading frames with 256 colors, in which all possible colors are equally distributed. This makes it possible to run several animations at once, without the problem of false colors. However especially on scanned images it can be useful to use the original palette that was saved with the frame. To use the original palette the SHIFT key must be held down when selecting OK in the file open dialog. To copy or to move a selected region within a frame you can either use the copy and paste command from the menu or simply click a point within the region while holding the SHIFT- or the CTRL-key down. Within the cycle definition you can also use the keyboard to move the current position on the cycle reel. For that the cursor keys, the page up page down, home and End keys can be used. If a condition is activated the position to which the cycle must branch can be chosen by clicking on the appropriate position while holding the SHIFT key down. When entering the coordinates the settings of the window's and frames' origin must be taken into account. The origins are set in the window parameters dialog, where the origin can be either the upper left corner or the center of the window / frames. The setting of the origins can be altered at any time, since Take ONE automatically changes all dependent coordinates. In the full version the Control Center offers you a more convenient way of positioning the frames. With it you'll be able to play the animation step by step and adjust the positions of the objects. Further information can be found in the help file. ************************************************************************** 4) File formats To load and save single frames Take ONE uses the standard Windows' Bitmap format (BMP). Frame sequences are saved in the BMX format which is Take ONE's propriety extension to the BMP format. To use images which are saved in different formats such as GIF, TIFF, PCX it's possible either to import them via the clipboard or by using a image conversion utility such as Graphic Workshop or Paint Shop, which are also shareware programs. ************************************************************************** 5) Advice for various graphic cards To be able to use the full features of Take ONE a graphic driver which supports 256 colors must be installed. The drivers which are supplied together with Windows 3.1 only support 16 colors. However all graphic cards are supplied with specialised driver software that allow a range of resolutions and color depths. Information about installing those drivers for windows can be found in the documentation delivered with your graphic card. Take ONE was tested on several computers with different hardware equipment. However it is still possible that there will be problems with exotic or brand new graphic cards, as their driver software sometimes contains bugs. If Take ONE does not work properly on your system contact you graphic card manufacturer for a driver update or use one of the standard Windows' drivers. Some problems like the filling of areas (usually done by the driver software) can be avoided by changing some parameters in the Take ONE's INI file which is available with the full version. ************************************************************************** 6) Developers info The animation engine developed for Take ONE is now available in the form of a DLL. This allows you to play animations in you own windows programs as well as defining you own moveable objects (sprites) using transparency, foreground regions, and background images. Any special functionality can be added to fit your purposes. To contact the development team write to: Rainer Dobele Stephansfelder Str. 42 78532 Tuttlingen Germany FAX: (+49) (0)7461 76806 **************************************************************************