#BEGIN introduction "Introduction" "$Id: Help,v 1.20 2003/02/09 18:54:53 demailly Exp $"
Welcome to the latest version of XPaint.
XPaint is a color image-editing tool that features most standard paint
program options.
It allows for the editing of multiple images simultaneously and supports
various formats, including GIF, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PPM, XBM, XPM, etc.
XPaint does not attempt to compete with much more sophisticated programs
such as "The Gimp" (http://www.gimp.org), but instead focuses on ease of use.
The functionality of XPaint is divided into a toolbox area for selecting
the current paint operation and paint windows for modifying/creating
images. Each paint window has access to its own color palette and set
of patterns, although the paint operation in use is globally selected
for all windows.
XPaint runs on a variety of displays. Saving images will adapt them
to the current display type (e.g., a color image loaded on a greyscale
screen will be saved as a grey image). This can result in the loss of
data; see the Possible Data Loss section for details.
More information is available under the specific topics. Enjoy!
#BEGIN data_loss "Possible Data Loss"
XPaint uses the native display format for storing image info while editing;
the original image information is thrown away. This means that, in general,
color information is irretrievably lost when using any display depth
less than 24 bits.
More specifically, for depths less than 8 bits, both
24-bit (true-color) and 8-bit (palette) images will be reduced to the display
depth; for 8-bit displays, standard color-mapped images are safe but 12-bit
color-mapped and 24-bit true-color images will lose color information;
for 15- and 16-bit displays (typically RGB 555 and 565, respectively), in
general both 8-bit and 24-bit images will suffer data loss; and for 24- or
32-bit displays, only very deep images such as 16-bit grayscale or 48-bit
true-color will lose data.
Also note that any ancillary information associated with the original
image (embedded comments, time stamp, copyright, etc.) will always be lost.
#BEGIN command "Command Line Options"
xpaint [-popped] [-snapshot] [-nowarn]
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[-nomenubar] [-fullpopup] [-simplepopup]
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[-lang LANGUAGE] [-zoom VALUE] [-rcFile FILE]
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[-size WIDTHxHEIGHT] [-winsize WIDTHxHEIGHT]
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[-8 | -12 | -24 | -visual VISUAL] [<files>...]
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-lang set LANGUAGE for dialogs and menus
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-zoom default zoom for painting canvas
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-size default width and height for painting canvas
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-winsize default size for canvas windows
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-8 use an 8-bit PseudoColor visual
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-12 use a 12-bit PseudoColor visual
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-24 use a 24-bit TrueColor visual
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-popped pop up an empty canvas on startup
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-snapshot open xpaint without any GUI, and take snapshot
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-nowarn skip data-loss warnings at startup
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-nomenubar do not show menu bar on top of canvas windows
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-fullpopup show the complete menu on the floating canvas popup
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-simplepopup just show the edit menu on the floating canvas popup
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-rcFile use FILE instead of default .XPaintrc
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-visual use VISUAL instead of default. Choices are
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TrueColor, PseudoColor, DirectColor, StaticColor,
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StaticGray, GrayScale, or the decimal visual
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number (from xdpyinfo).
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<files> image filenames to open
#BEGIN toolbox "Toolbox"
The toolbox is used to set those options that are applicable to all
XPaint canvases.
#PUSH
#BEGIN tool_file "Canvas Menu"
The file menu is used to create a new canvas or load an image from a file.
New Canvas
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Create a new blank canvas (default size:
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640x480). See "Command Line Options" for
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changing the default size.
New with Size...
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Create a new canvas with the specified
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dimensions.
Open...
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Load a specified image file and open a new
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canvas for viewing or modifying it. Images can
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be opened in a variety of formats. If none
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of the specific formats is selected, XPaint
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will attempt to perform a "Best Guess" as to
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the image format. Unknown formats will result
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in an error message.
Take Snapshot...
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Grab a rectangle from the root window and load
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that rectangle in a new canvas. The left button
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is used to select opposite corners of the
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rectangle, the middle button to grab a complete
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window and the third button to cancel the
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operation.
Quit
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Exit XPaint, closing all windows.
#BEGIN tools "Painting Tools"
The painting tool icons set the current painting operation for all canvases.
Operations are selected with mouse button one. Pressing mouse button three
while over any of the icons will bring up a menu of options available for
that tool. Some icons also allow double-clicking as a faster method of
bringing up style options.
See the specific paint operation for more information.
#PUSH
#BEGIN pencil "Pencil"
The pencil operation paints a connected line on the canvas, following the
cursor while the mouse button is pressed. The global line width is used
to determine the width of this line.
Button one paints in the primary color/pattern, button two the secondary
color/pattern.
See "Line Menu" under the canvas menu bar for more information about line
width.
#BEGIN dynpencil "Dynamic Pencil"
The dynamic pencil operation paints calligraphic stroke-like curves
on the canvas, following the cursor while the mouse button is pressed.
It mimics pulling a variable-width pencil with a rubber string. The
width of the pen gets smaller the faster it moves. The pencil has a
settable mass. Depending on its mass, it follows the cursor more or
less tightly as you accelerate and turn the cursor. A heavy pencil has
large inertia.
The "mass", steady-state width and "drag" can be set with the dialog
you get if you press button three on the icon.
Button one paints in the primary color/pattern, button two the secondary
color/pattern.
#BEGIN dotPencil "Dot Pencil"
The dot pencil operation paints a series of dots on the canvas, following the
cursor while the mouse button is pressed.
Button one paints in the primary color/pattern, button two the secondary
color/pattern.
See "Pencil" for painting connected lines.
#BEGIN brush "Brush"
The brush operation uses the current brush to paint on the canvas(es).
Painting is accomplished by holding down the mouse button and
moving the mouse in the canvas area. Button one paints in the selected primary
color/pattern, while button two uses the secondary one.
If the 'transparent' option is selected from the menu found by pressing button
three on the icon, the selected color is blended with the color already on the
canvas. You can change the opacity of the brush using the 'Parameters...'
option. Zero percent means that the canvas is not changed at all, while 100
percent gives the same result as using a non-transparent brush.
The current brush style may be changed through the brush chooser available
on the button three menu for either the brush or erase operation icons.
The brush chooser can also be opened through the brush icon button from
the canvas windows.
#BEGIN spray "Spray"
The spray operation is designed to emulate a spray can. It will paint
a random set of dots within a given radius.
It is possible to change the attributes of the spray operation to
achieve the desired effect. There are three parameters that will
modify the configuration of the spray tool:
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radius how large of a circle to fill
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density number of dots in the given area
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rate speed to fill the area in tenths of a second
Additionally, it is possible to change the distribution of the dots to
be either even or gaussian (usually only noticeable at large radii).
These options are found in the menu brought up by clicking button three
on the spray icon.
As with many other operations, the spray operation can make use of either
the primary or secondary color/pattern based on which button (one or two,
respectively) is held down while painting on the canvas.
#BEGIN smear "Smear"
The smear operation paints each pixel under the brush the average color
of all the pixels.
Smearing is done by holding down the mouse button and
moving the mouse in the canvas area.
The current brush style may be changed through the brush chooser available
on the button three menu.
#BEGIN box "Box [Filled]"
The box operations paint either rectangles or squares using the current line
width. Pressing shift while moving the mouse after selecting the first point
will constrain the box to a square.
Selecting the 'center' option from the menu found by pressing button three on
the icon will define the first point as the center of the square with
the second point being on the perimeter.
Filled boxes are painted in the primary color/pattern and filled
with the secondary color/pattern for the canvas.
See "Line Menu" under the canvas menu bar for more information about line
width and dash style.
#BEGIN line "Line"
The line operation paints a straight line in the primary color/pattern
between two selected points on the canvas, using the global line width
and the global dash style.
See "Line Menu" under the canvas menu bar for more information about
line width and dash style.
Lines may also be restricted to increments of 45 degrees (i.e.,
horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) by holding down the shift key while
painting.
Options to the "Line" tool are "Rays" and "Arrows".
The "Rays" option paints an array of "rays" from the first selected
point to all subsequent points in the primary color/pattern. Button
two ends this operation (without selecting a new ray point). Rays may
also be restricted to slopes based on a 45 degree increment (i.e.,
horizontal, vertical, or diagonals) by pressing the shift key while
painting.
When the "Arrows" option is set, all lines and rays are drawn with an
arrow at the end point.
#BEGIN oval "Oval [Filled]"
The oval operations paint either circles or ovals using the current line width.
Ovals/circles are painted by selecting two points that inherently define
a box around the area for the oval. Pressing shift while moving the mouse will
constrain the oval to a circle.
Selecting the 'center' option from the menu found by pressing button three on
the icon will define the first point as the center of the circle with the
second point being the radius.
Filled ovals and circles are painted in the primary color/pattern and filled
with the secondary color/pattern for the canvas.
See "Line Menu" under the canvas menu bar for more information about
line width and dash style.
#BEGIN arc "Arc"
The arc operation paints an arc between two selected points in the primary
color/pattern, using the current line width and the current dash style.
According to the operating mode which is selected, one can obtain
circle arcs ior ellipse arcs.
There are four operating modes available. The first, which is also the
default mode, draws a circle arc joining 3 points. As long as the arc is
not finalized, the second extremity of the arc can be changed by pressing
the Shift key.
The second operating mode produces ellipse quadrants. In this case, the
Shift key changes the arc concavity (turning it upwards rather than
downwards).
The third and fourth operating modes produce arbitrary ellipse arcs
(the ellipse have horizontal and vertical axes, however). One first
selects the ellipse itself, and then the extremities of the arc.
In mode 3, the initial point is the center of the ellipse.
In mode 4, the first two points are opposite vertices of a rectangular
box containing the ellipse. In both cases, the Shift key enforces
a circle arc rather than an arc of ellipse.
See "Line Menu" under the canvas menu bar for more information about line
width and dash style.
#BEGIN poly "Polygon [Filled]"
Polygon operations paint polygons as defined by a series of straight lines
between selected vertices. Each new vertex is selected using the first mouse
button. Ending this operation (done through pressing the second mouse
button) does not create a new vertex and results in the last created
vertex being joined to the first.
Polygons are drawn in the primary color/pattern, using the currently defined
line width and dash style, and filled in the secondary color/pattern.
See "Line Menu" under the canvas menu bar for more information about line
width and dash style.
#BEGIN cline "Polygonal Line"
The connected line operation paints a series of straight lines connected at
selected vertices. Each new vertex is selected using the first mouse button.
The second mouse button ends this operation, without forming a new vertex.
All painting is done in the primary color/pattern using the currently defined
line width and dash style.
See "Line Menu" under the canvas menu bar for more information about line
width and dash style.
#BEGIN spline "Spline Curve [Filled]"
The spline curve operation paints a connected curve made up of Bézier
cubics, or possibly a combination of Bézier cubics and line segments.
The Bézier cubics are calculated in such a way that they interpolate as
best as possible the selected points. Each new point is selected using
the first mouse button. The second mouse button ends this operation,
without creating a new point. Line segments are drawn instead of Bézier
cubics as long as the Shift key is pressed (in this way it is even
possible to draw a polygonal line...).
The spline curve can be either open or closed. The Open/Closed property
is selected by pressing the third mouse button in the spline curve icon.
By pressing the "Control" key during mouse motion, spline curves that
ought to be closed at the end of the point selection process are
shown closed at every step. This enables users to check the shape of
the expected curve before confirming the final point. The "Closed up"
option has a similar effect, except that it is no longer necessary to
press the Control key.
Spline curves are painted in the primary color/pattern and filled
with the secondary color/pattern. The boundary is drawn using the
currently defined line width and dash style.
See "Line Menu" under the canvas menu bar for more information about line
width and dash style.
#BEGIN text "Text"
The text operation allows for typing in the currently selected font.
Pressing mouse button two in the canvas area while inserting text
will paste text from the X clipboard at the current insertion point.
See the "Font Menu" for information on changing the selected font.
Note: Changing a font while inserting will not allow backspacing over text
in a previous font.
#BEGIN blob "Shape [Filled]"
Shape operations allow the user to draw closed objects with a
pencil-like operation. When the mouse button is released, the last drawn
point is connected to the starting point.
Painting can either be done in the primary color/pattern with button one or
in the secondary color/pattern with button two. Filled shapes are filled in
the other palette color/pattern. Border width is determined by the current
setting for line width.
See "Line Menu" under the canvas menu bar for more information about line
width and dash style.
#BEGIN erase "Erase"
The erase operation is designed to either erase a section of the painting to
the set background color for the canvas or to revert the erased area to
the originally loaded image. (Note: This is not the last saved image!)
The eraser is the style of the current brush, and the brush selection
window is accessible through the menu found by clicking mouse button
three on either the erase or brush icons.
See help on the "Brush" or on "Change Background..." under the Image menu of
the Painting Window for more information.
#BEGIN fill "Fill"
The fill operation will paint an area around a selected pixel the current
primary or secondary color/pattern (based on which mouse button used). The
area is determined by matching adjacent pixel values until a variation is
found. Diagonal pixels are not considered adjacent.
Selecting the 'Change' option from the menu found by pressing button three on
the icon will enter Change Mode. In this mode, all pixels in the image that
have the same color as the selected one will be changed to the primary or
secondary color.
Selecting the 'Fill Range' option causes XPaint to consider not only pixels of
the exact same color as the selected one, but also pixels within the variance
(delta) set from the color selector found under the 'Select Range...' popup
menu item.
#BEGIN tfill "Gradient Fill"
The gradient fill operation will paint an area around a selected pixel with a
range of colors obtained by mixing the primary and secondary colors.
The area is determined by matching adjacent pixel values until a variation is
found. Diagonal pixels are not considered adjacent.
The 'Fill', 'Change' and 'Fill Range' options in the popup menu work the same
as for the ordinary fill operation.
Linear, Radial, Conical or Square gradient fill can be selected by clicking
mouse button three on the Gradient Fill icon. Also, several parameters can be
adjusted using the 'Parameters' item here:
Angle
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Defines the tilting of the pattern. Valid range is
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-360 to 360 degrees.
Pad If this value is positive, the area where one color
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blends into the other will be compressed, yielding
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a sharper transition. If negative, the transition
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will be smoother. Valid range is -49 % to 49 %.
Horizontal/Vertical offset
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Defines the center of the pattern. Valid range is
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-100 % to 100 %.
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This parameter has no effect for the Linear pattern.
Steps
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The maximum number of colors that will be used
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for the transition from one color to the other.
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For non-TrueColor displays, it can be useful to
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limit the number of colors used to avoid running
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out of palette entries. Very small numbers can
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also be used to get a 'blocky' effect. Valid range
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is 1 through 300.
#BEGIN ffill "Fractal Fill"
The fractal fill operation will paint an area around a selected pixel with a
range of colors obtained by mixing the primary and secondary colors.
The area is determined by matching adjacent pixel values until a variation is
found. Diagonal pixels are not considered adjacent.
The 'Fill', 'Change' and 'Fill Range' options in the popup menu work the same
as for the ordinary fill operation.
Several different fractal patterns can be selected by clicking
mouse button three on the Fractal Fill icon.
#BEGIN select "Select Regions"
There are three operations for selecting regions: Select Box, Lasso and
Select Polygon.
"Select Box" will select a rectangular or ellipse-shaped region (holding down
shift while pressing the mouse button with constrain the region to a
square or a circle, respectively). "Lasso" selects an arbitrary region.
"Select Polygon" selects a region bounded by straight lines.
If the "Alt" or "Alt-Gr" key is pressed and held down, the selected region
becomes semi-transparent. This can make its positioning easier if you
have to adjust the region with respect to the underlying canvas.
The three possible modes used by these operations are set by the options on
the button three menu for either icon:
All Colors Select the entire region.
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Omit Color Range Select the region, excluding the
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specified range of colors.
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Only Color Range Select only the specified color range
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in the region.
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See "Range Selection" for more information on choosing a range of colors
for these operations.
Operations that may be performed on selected regions include the ability
to move and resize them. Holding shift down during resizing will constrain
the region to its original aspect ratio. Holding shift down during moving
will constrain movement to horizontal or vertical.
Note that moving a region will result in the original location being painted
in the current background color. See "Background Color..." under the Image
menu of the Paint Window for more information.
You can also use the cursor keys to move the region one pixel at a time (hold
down the Control key to move in larger steps).
#POP
#POP
#BEGIN canvas "Painting Window"
The painting window holds a canvas area for displaying or editing images.
In order to paint on the canvas, the user normally has first to select
a suitable painting tool by clicking on the icons of the global toolbox,
as well as a set of two colors or patterns, termed here the primary and
secondary patterns. Other parameters can also be adjusted, such as
the line width or the character font; once these choices have been
made, the user can proceed to apply the tool selected on the painting
canvas.
The top panel of the canvas window display a menu bar which gives
access to all file and editing operations, as well as to the selection
of parameters and image transformations.
Below the menu bar, the top panel displays a small-scale copy of the
palette of available colors and patterns. On the left, the "eye" icon
allows to select any pixel that is displayed on the screen. The
"disk" next to the right of the eye is a three-positions switch.
The initial position of the swith (filled disk with boundary) means
that the primary and secondary colors/patterns are selected simultaneously,
the next two switches allow to select of or the other of the primary
or secondary color/pattern.
On the right of the menu bar and of the palette widget, there are four
buttons which activate respectively the color/pattern selector, the
global toolbox, the brush selector and the font selector. All these
options can also be selected from the popup menu, by clicking with
button 3 (right button) on the painting canvas.
It should be observed that each painting canvas has its own set of
primary and primary patterns; on the contrary, when a tool is
selected, it applies simultaneously to all canvases. See help on each
specific paint operation for its use.
#PUSH
#BEGIN fileMenu "File Menu"
The file menu on the painting window is for saving information associated
with the image displayed on the current paint canvas.
XPaint runs on a variety of displays. Saving
images will adapt them to the current display type (i.e., a color image
loaded on a greyscale screen will be saved as a grey image).
See "Image Formats" for a description of the image formats usable
by XPaint.
Save
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Save the current image with the original
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filename and format. If this is a new
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image, perform the "Save As" operation.
Save As
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Save the current image with the specified
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filename and format (default is TIFF).
Save Region...
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Save the selected region, in the original
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form that it was selected (width, height and
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rotation). Odd-shaped regions will be saved
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as rectangles filled with the background
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color. If the output format supports image
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masks (e.g., TIFF, PNG, XPM), then this
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information will also be saved. See "Load
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Clipboard..." under the toolbox file menu
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for more information about odd-shaped
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images.
Load Clipboard...
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Open an image file into the XPaint clipboard
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for pasting. Images that have been saved in
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a format supporting odd-shaped regions will be
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loaded as they were selected, otherwise all
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images are rectangular. See "Paste" and
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"Save Region..." under the Edit and File menus
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of the Painting Window for more information.
Save Palette...
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Save the current palette. See "Palette
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Area" for more information on how
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patterns are loaded.
Revert...
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Reloads the last saved image. This is
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equivalent to closing without saving
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and then opening the original file.
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You are asked for confirmation. If
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the image has not been changed since
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the last save, this operation does
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nothing.
Print...
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Opens the "Print Utility" widget. Check the
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corresponding sections for more details.
External viewer...
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Pipes the last saved image to an external viewing
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program. Default is "xv". This can be modified by
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redefining the
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"Canvas.extern*form*viewercmd*string"
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parameter in the app-defaults file.
Close
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Close the current painting window, saving
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the image if desired.
#BEGIN editMenu "Edit Menu"
The edit menu provides for a set of operations that interact with the
current selection and the paint clipboard. All options in this menu
are also accessible through button three on the painting canvas.
The clipboard is an off-screen image that is loaded either from a selected
region via these operations or from a file.
See "Load Clipboard..." on the toolbox "File Menu" for more information
about loading images from a file and "Change Background..." under the
"Image Menu" for more information on the background color.
Undo
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Reverse the last performed operation.
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Multiple undos are possible; see 'Undo Levels..'
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in the 'Image' menu.
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If a region is selected, and you have not moved
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or resized it, the last region operation is undone.
Redo
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Cancel the effect of the last undo.
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This must be done immediately after an undo or
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redo (before drawing anything new on the canvas).
Undo Levels...
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Changes the number of consecutive changes
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that can be undone or redone. Note that each
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undo level uses as much memory as the image
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itself, so large numbers can use up a lot of
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memory.
Refresh
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Refreshes the painting window. Should be useful
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only when the X display gets garbled; this can
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happen especially for some buggy X servers.
Cut
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Load the originally selected region into both
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the XPaint and X server clipboards and
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change the area on the screen to the background
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color.
Copy
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Load the originally selected region into the
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XPaint and X server clipboards.
Paste
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Place the image in the clipboard onto the
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canvas at the last position where button one
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or two was pressed. Images are first searched
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for in the X server clipboard and then the
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internal XPaint clipboard.
Clear
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Remove the current selection from the paint
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canvas.
Snapshot
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Grab a rectangle from the root window and load
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that rectangle in the Xpaint clipboard. The left
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button is used to select opposite corners of the
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rectangle, the middle button to grab a complete
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window and the third button to cancel the
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operation.
Duplicate
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Perform both the copy and paste operations in one
Select All
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Select the entire image on the canvas.
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(Note: This does not use the color range options
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that the select-area operators from the toolbox do!)
Erase All
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Erases the entire image on the canvas.
#BEGIN tool_line "Line Menu"
The line menu sets the value of the line width. This value is used by all
operations that paint any type of line, including the borders of boxes,
ovals and polygons. It is also used to set the dash style. A dash style
is indicated by a sequence of at most 48 characters = and -, for example
=========---==--. The = characters indicate pixels which will be drawn,
and the - characters indicate pixels wchich will not be drawn.
A continuous line should be indicated by a single character = (a string
containing only characters = will also produce a continuous line).
#BEGIN tool_font "Font Menu"
This menu selects the current font to use for the text operation. There are
a few specific fonts choices listed, but all fonts are available through
the font browser.
Note: Changing a font while inserting will not allow backspacing over text
in a previous font.
See "Font Browser" for more information on its use.
#BEGIN regionMenu "Region Menu"
This menu provides operations that can be applied to the currently
selected region. See the "Select Regions" item under the toolbox
Painting tools for information on how to select regions.
Note: The 'Undo' option found under the Edit menu does not work
on these operations! Use the 'Reset' option of the Region menu,
or the 'Undo' option of the Filter menu instead.
Flip X Axis
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Flip the current region horizontally.
Flip Y Axis
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Flip the current region vertically.
Rotate By
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Rotate...
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Both of these operations allow for rotating
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the current region by a specified number of
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degrees. Rotation may also be done
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by pressing button two on the selection.
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Pressing the Shift button while doing this
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constrains the rotation to multiples of
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15 degrees.
Linear Transformation...
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This operation applies to the current region
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a linear transformation defined by a certain
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matrix [ a, b ; c, d], as specified by user
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data input for each entry.
Reset
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Return the current image to its original
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size and orientation. Note: None of the
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image processing operations will be undone.
Clone Region
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Open a new canvas containing a copy of the
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selected region, in the original form that
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it was selected (width, height and rotation).
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Odd-shaped regions will be saved as rectangles
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filled with the background color. See "Load
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Clipboard..." under the toolbox file menu
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for more information about odd-shaped
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images.
Crop to region...
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Discard all portions of the image outside the region.
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This operation cannot be undone; therefore, you are
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required to confirm it.
Autocrop...
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Changes the size of the current canvas by
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cutting away any borders. The border color
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is defined as the color common to at least
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two corners. If no two corners have the same
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color, nothing is done.
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This operation is not reversible and
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affects the actual image size.
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Delimit Region...
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Not yet implemented !! The idea is to find
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a monocolor region under the cursor
Complement Region
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Not yet implemented !! The idea would be to
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take the complement of the current region
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with respect to the whole canvas.
Unselect
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Unselects the current region (and frees the
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corresponding data structures from memory).
#BEGIN filterMenu "Filter Menu"
The filter menu provides a set of image processing operations
that can be applied to the currently selected region. See
the "Select Regions" item under the toolbox Painting tools
for information on how to select regions. In case no region has
been selected, the entire paint canvas is selected as the region
to which the filters shall be applied.
Any filter operation can be undone by means of the "Undo Last" option,
but this can be applied only once to the very last filter.
Invert
#NL
Inverts the colors of the selected region
#NL
(e.g., black to white).
Sharpen
#NL
Applies an image processing algorithm in an
#NL
attempt to increase the detail on the
#NL
selected region.
Smooth
#NL
Attempts to blend the colors of the region
#NL
by averaging the pixel's color values with
#NL
those of its neighbors.
Directional Smooth
#NL
Similar to Smooth, but avoids smearing edges
#NL
by applying a more sophisticated algorithm.
#NL
The effect is less pronounced than for Smooth.
Despeckle...
#NL
Tries to remove scanning artifacts etc. by replacing
#NL
each pixel by the median of the pixels inside the
#NL
n x n mask centered around that pixel. You are
#NL
queried for the mask size; this must be odd and
#NL
larger than 1.
Edge Detect
#NL
Performs an image processing edge
#NL
detection.
Emboss
#NL
Converts the selected region to a grey image
#NL
that is highlighted such that the details
#NL
appear to stand out from the screen.
Oil paint...
#NL
Does an effect similar to an oil painting.
#NL
You are queried for the mask size, which must
#NL
be an odd integer. Recommended values range
#NL
from 3 to 15. Higher values result in a more
#NL
pronounced effect.
Add Noise...
#NL
Add random noise to the image, giving a 'grainy'
#NL
appearance. You are queried for the maximum
#NL
noise value. Recommended values range from
#NL
5 to 50. Higher values result in a more
#NL
pronounced effect.
Spread...
#NL
This operation swaps each pixel in the region with
#NL
a random pixel near it, giving an effect similar to
#NL
frosted glass. You are queried for the maximum
#NL
distance. Good values range from 1 to 10.
#NL
You can also specify how many iterations you want
#NL
performed. This is equivalent to manually selecting
#NL
the operation that many times.
Pixelize...
#NL
Makes the image look low resolution. This works by
#NL
replacing each 'megapixel' with the average color
#NL
within that region. You are queried for the megapixel
#NL
size; this can be specified as square (e.g., '5') or
#NL
rectangular (e.g., '2x4').
Tilt...
#NL
This operation applies to the region a certain
#NL
homographic transform, which may give the illusion
#NL
that the object originally shown in the region
#NL
is seen in a perspective view.
Blend
#NL
This operation colors each pixel in the region
#NL
with a weighted average of the center color and
#NL
the color on the edge that intersects a line drawn
#NL
from the center to the pixel in question.
#NL
The result is to 'blend the region out of existence'.
Solarize...
#NL
Inverts pixels with a value larger than the
#NL
specified threshold. This simulates what happens
#NL
to a photographic film that is exposed to light
#NL
during development. Works best for greyscale
#NL
images. You are queried for the threshold (1-99 %).
Turn into Greyscale
#NL
Converts all colors in the image to greyscale.
Normalize Contrast
#NL
Normalizes the contrast by forcing the lightest pixels
#NL
to white, the darkest pixels to black, and linearly
#NL
rescaling the ones in between.
#NL
You are queried for Black and White levels in %.
#NL
Pixels darker than the Black level will become black,
#NL
and pixels brighter than the White level will become
#NL
white. The pixels in between will be rescaled linearly.
#NL
'100 %' refers to the brightest pixel in the image.
Modify RGB Components...
#NL
Modifies the Red, Geen, Blue components of each Pixel
#NL
by means of a suitable (homographical) transform. The
#NL
corresponding color brightness is increased or decreased,
#NL
according to the sign of the selected percentage of
#NL
variation. This percentage of variation should be
#NL
comprised between -100% and +100%. A value of -100%
#NL
means that the corresponding color will totally
#NL
disappear, while a value of +100% will attribute
#NL
the maximal possible value 255 to this color, as
#NL
soon as the given pixel had a non zero component
#NL
value.
Quantize Colors...
#NL
Reduces the number of colors in the image. The
#NL
algorithm selects the set of colors that gives
#NL
the best result and then replaces the original
#NL
colors with the best match in the new color set.
#NL
You can choose the number of colors to use,
#NL
from 2 to 256.
User Defined Filter...
#NL
Not yet implemented !!
Repeat Last
#NL
This applies the last filter you used again, without
#NL
querying for any parameters.
Undo Last
#NL
Undoes the effect of the filter applied in the last
#NL
instance, and resets the selected region in its former
#NL
state. If several filters have been applied
#NL
consecutively, only the last one can be reverted.
#BEGIN selectorMenu "Selectors Menu"
The "Selectors" menu gives access to all popups and option selections
which may affect the painting operations and the graphic canvas itself.
Color and Pattern Editor...
#NL
Opens the Color and Pattern Editor, or raises it if the
#NL
popup-window is already open. This popup is also raised
#NL
by pressing the appropriate button on the top panel
Select Color Range...
#NL
Opens the "Color Range Selection" window, or raises it
#NL
if the popup-window is already open. This widget can
#NL
be used to select color domains for the various fill
#NL
operators and region selection tools. See
#NL
"Color Range Selection" for more details.
Change Background Color...
#NL
Opens the "Background Color" popup-window. This
#NL
popup-window allows to change the background
#NL
color for the current image (default color is
#NL
white). This is only used when a region is
#NL
erased or cut from the current image and
#NL
when odd-shaped regions are saved. See
#NL
"Color Wheel" under the "Pattern Editor" for
#NL
more information on selecting a color.
Fat Bits Editor...
#NL
Brings up the Fat Bits editor, which allows
#NL
for editing an enlarged area of the current
#NL
image without having to enlarge the entire
#NL
image.
Toolbox...
#NL
Raises the Toolbox window, in particular if it
#NL
has been iconified.
Brush Selector...
#NL
Opens the Brush Selector, or raises it if it is
#NL
already open. This window can also be reached
#NL
from the appropriate button on the top panel.
Font Selector...
#NL
Opens the Font Selector, or raises it if it is
#NL
already open. This window can also be reached
#NL
from the appropriate button on the top panel.
Compile a C script...
#NL
Opens the Script Editor window, and lets that
#NL
script be compiled if needed. This is useful
#NL
e.g. for programmers who want to design their
#NL
own filter routines.
Change Size...
#NL
Changes the size of the current canvas by
#NL
cutting away or adding area on the right and
#NL
lower sides. This operation is not
#NL
reversible (except by 'Revert') and affects
#NL
the actual image size.
Change Zoom...
#NL
Enlarges the working image by the specified
#NL
scale. This does not affect the size of the
#NL
image for saving, etc.
Snap Spacing...
#NL
Sets the distance between points on the
#NL
invisible snap grid.
Snap
#NL
Turns on/off restriction of the current x
#NL
and y position for most operations to an
#NL
invisible grid.
Visible Grid
#NL
Turns on and off a visible black grid
#NL
between the original pixels on images with a
#NL
scale greater than 1 (i.e., zoomed). This
#NL
grid is only for painting purposes. It does
#NL
not affect the actual image.
#BEGIN canvasMenu "Canvas Menu"
The "Canvas" Menu of the canvas window is identical to the corresponding
toolbox menu. See the "Canvas Menu" item under the toolbox section
for detailed information.
#POP
#BEGIN printMenu "Print Utility"
Opens the "Print Utility". From there, the size and position of the image
on a pages can be adjusted arbitrarily. The horizontal and vertical sizes
can be set simultaneously or not.
There are toggles for Portrait and Landscape modes, as well as for
printing to a file or to a printer. The default PostScript resolution
is 72 dpi, but this can be increased by using an interpolation of colors
(sub-sampling). A sub-sampling of 5 x 3 means that each screen pixel
will give rise to 15 pixels on the printing output by interpolating
the colors of the pixels nearby, with 5 subdivisions in the horizontal
direction and 3 subdivisions in the vertical direction (the allowed
maximal subdivision is 255).
The preview button creates a temporary PostScript file and pipes it
to a PostScript viewer, "gv" by default. The PostScript viewer can be
interactively redefined. It is initialized via the parameter
"Canvas.print*form*psviewer*string: ..."
in the app-defaults file.
#BEGIN patternSelector "Color and Pattern Selector"
The Color and Pattern Selector is the place from which colors and
patterns can be selected and activated for use on the painting canvases.
It can also be used to modify the palette of available patterns.
#PUSH
#BEGIN openPatSel "Opening the Color/Pattern Selector"
The Selector is most conveniently opened by clicking on the appropriate
button of a painting canvas - in second position at the right of the
menu bar on the top panel. This button displays an hexagonal icon
showing the active primary and secondary colors/patterns, such as they
are in effect when painting operations are applied.
#BEGIN topPatSelStructure "Top Panel of the Pattern Selector"
The Pattern Selector displays on the top menu panel the primary
and secondary patterns of the associated Painting Canvas (in case
several canvases are open, this is the one from which the Selector
has been opened or re-opened in the last instance).
On the right of the top menu bar, an icon is displayed showing an
hexagonal area. The border of this area is drawn with the active primary
pattern, and its interior with the active secondary pattern. The border
linewidth coincides with the current linewidth of the painting canvas.
A click on the hexagonal icon raises the painting window, without any
effect on the various painting parameters.
On the other hand, a click on the primary or secondary pattern icon
selects one or the other, and sets correspondingly the arrow.
#BEGIN leftPatSel "Selection of Colors"
The central left panel of the Pattern Selector displays the colorwheel
and the buttons used for color selection. The "Lookup" button allows
the user to select any color available on the screen, whilst the
"Record" button adds the selected color to the list of colors
available from the Palette shown in the bottom panel. See "Color
wheel" for more details.
Note: Manipulating colormap entries effects the canvas immediately
and does not revert when "Cancel" is chosen.
#BEGIN rightPatSel "Selection of Patterns"
The central right panel displays a small graphic canvas in which new
patterns can be created or edited. Patterns are by default 24x24 in
size, but may be set to any size through the "Size" menu. The other
menus available provide similar functionality to those in the paint
window and pattern editing uses the normal paint operations.
Patterns may be individually saved through the "Save As" option in the
"Canvas" menu or saved globally with the "Save Palette..." option
in the "Palette" menu. Previously created palettes can be loaded with
the "Load Palette..." option. See "Palette Configuration Files" for
more details.
#BEGIN bottomPatSel "Palette of Colors and Patterns"
The bottom panel of the pattern selector displays the list of
available colors or patterns, including the initial ones and those
which have been previously created and added.
A simple click on one of the icons activates it as the primary or
secondary color/pattern, according to the psition of the upper
arrow.
A double click on an icon puts it in "Edition mode", as visualized by
a red rectangular mark; the effect of pressing on one of the "Record"
buttons is then to replace the corresponding color/pattern by the
color/pattern being edited from the central panel.
Finally a double "double click" on a pattern icon loads that pattern
on the graphical canvas for further editing.
Button 3 (right button) activates a popup menu offering similar
options (mark icon in editing mode, unmark icon, load pattern on
canvas, remove pattern).
#BEGIN grabpattern "Grab Colors and Patterns"
A quick method for adding a new color or pattern is found by using the
"Lookup" and "Grab" buttons. These buttons allow the user to select
any color or any colored area available on the screen. A further click on
the "Record" button will then record the selection and add it to the
bottom palette. It should be noted that if a color is already found in
the palette, the action of the "Record" button is simply to make it
active.
Note: The current palette can be saved for later use with the
"Save Palette..." option from the "Palette" menu.
#BEGIN colorwheel "Color Wheel"
The XPaint color selection allows access to both the HSV or RGB color
space models. The color wheel along with the value
slider represents HSV, while the red, green, and blue sliders are for
manipulating the color in an RGB space. Modifications in either of
these color spaces will effect the other.
Colors can be selected on the color wheel by using the mouse to drag
the selection circle or to click on a desired color. Changes
to value will determine the brightness of the chosen color. Colors
can also be modified through the red, green, or blue sliders or by
entering values in the text fields.
The "Match" button will set the current color by allowing the user to
select any color on the screen. The exact color will be determined
using the colormap of the selected window.
#BEGIN configfile "Palette Configuration Files"
Colors and patterns appearing on the bottom panel of the Pattern Selector
are loaded each time the selector is opened, according to certain
priority rules:
#NL
.XPaintrc in the user's home directory
#NL
.XPaintrc in the current directory
Note: Color/pattern changes affect both primary and secondary palettes.
#POP
#BEGIN range_select "Color Range Selection"
This window pops up when you click the "Select Color Range" button under
the "Selectors" canvas menu popup. Its purpose is to select a range of
colors for use with the select region operations. The color
range is determined by setting a base color and the amount of variance
in each of the RGB values around this color. Colors are considered in
this range if they match a value based on the base color +/- the given
variance. Default base color is white.
The "Pixel Delta" button allows the user to choose another color that will
be used to calculate the variance from the base color.
More information on colors and the use of the color wheel may be found
under the "Color and Pattern Selector" on the "Painting Window".
#BEGIN brush_selector "Brush Selector"
The Brush Selector is a small popup window from which the current brush can
be set or changed. The selection of the brush only affects the "Brush"
and "Erase" tools.
The initial brushes are defined at compile time and loaded from the
'bitmaps/paint*.xpm' included files.
The user can add new brushes through .XPaintrc configuration files.
The syntax is
#NL
brush BeginData
#NL
...
#NL
EndData
#NL
and is entirely similar to the syntax used for black and white patterns.
(A color pattern would also be accepted, but in this case only the black
pixels are used to define the shape of the brush; the other pixels have
the same effect as white pixels, i.e. no effect).
The simplest way is to create a black and white pattern, save it into
a new palette, and then change the identificator 'pattern' by 'brush'
with a text editor.
#BEGIN font_browser "Font Browser"
The font browser is designed to allow any available font to be used for
painting with the text operation. A font is selected by choosing an item
from each of the given lists until the font is displayed in the "selection"
area. As items are selected, all lists will adjust to reflect existing
fonts with the selected characteristics. Clicking in the blank area
of a item list will reset that list to all available options (i.e., unselect
the current one).
If the X server supports variable sized fonts, the point size list will
contain a "0" entry, which will use the value specified in the
"Point Size" field.
#BEGIN script_editor "C Script Editor"
The C script Editor can be used to write a script in language C,
defining e.g. a programmable filter.
This possibility will appeal to programmers who want to design their
own filter routines.
The "Compile" button compiles the C script as a shared ???.so library,
and, if successfull, links dynamically that library to Xpaint.
Several examples will be found in the share/filters subdirectory. Notice
that you can use this feature only if gcc has been installed on your
system.
#BEGIN fileformat "Image Formats"
XPaint can support a variety of image file formats, based on
library availability at compile time. Some of these formats may not
be accessible in the current running version.
The table below provides a short summary of the features of each image
format and support provided by XPaint. Note that not all formats are
supported for both read and write operations.
Color depth is given in terms of the number of bits used to store the
colors in the image. This means that a color depth of 1-bit can only
store black/white images, while 24-bit color formats can store images
containing up to 2**24 (or approx. 16 million) colors. Regardless of
the image format, saved images always reflect the ability of current
display type (i.e., a color image loaded on a greyscale screen will be
saved as a grey image). See the Possible Data Loss section for more
details.
The image mask feature of an image format provides the ability to
save/load odd-shaped regions (i.e., regions are not required to be
rectangular and may have "holes" in them). See "Save Region" and
"Load Clipboard..." for more information.
Detailed information about each format is at the end of this section.
#NL
Read Write Color Depth Image Mask
#NL
GIF yes yes 8-bit no
#NL
ICO yes yes 16-bit yes
#NL
JPEG yes yes 24-bit no
#NL
PNG yes yes 8, 24-bit yes
#NL
PPM yes yes 24-bit no
#NL
PDF yes yes* 24-bit no
#NL
PS yes yes* 24-bit no
#NL
SGI yes yes 24-bit no
#NL
TIFF yes yes 8, 24-bit yes
#NL
XBM yes yes 1-bit no
#NL
XPM yes yes 8-bit yes
#NL
XWD yes yes 24-bit no
* CAUTION : the output of a PostScript or PDF write is just raw bitmap data.
If an existing PS or PDF file is overwritten, all formatting data and all
other information embedded in the input file are irretrievably lost,
especially embedded text components, PostScript procedures, fonts, etc.
GIF - Graphics Interchange Format
#NL
A popular image format used across a variety
#NL
of platforms, including PCs. Suffers
#NL
unfortunately of very restrictive licence
#NL
by UNISYS, which owns a patent on the
#NL
compression algorithm used.
#NL
Just boycott GIF format, PNG is better !
ICO - Icon Format (Microsoft)
#NL
Format used by Microsoft OS for icons,
#NL
size is restricted to 256x256 at most.
#NL
Is provided here just for compatibility
#NL
issues. Avoid this if you can.
JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group Format
#NL
A standardized, lossy format for storing
#NL
compressed color and greyscale images
#NL
of natural scenes.
PNG - Portable Network Graphics Format
#NL
A new format designed to replace GIF and,
#NL
to some extent, TIFF. It has a better
#NL
compression engine than either GIF or TIFF
#NL
and is a lossless format (unlike JPEG).
#NL
We recommend the PNG format in most cases !
PPM - Portable PixMap Format
#NL
Image format provided by the PBMPlus/NetPBM
#NL
toolkit that allows for converting to a wide variety
#NL
of other formats.
PDF - Portable Document Format
#NL
PDF is a document format specified by Adobe Inc.
#NL
which is widely used for documents involving
#NL
text and images simulateneously.
PS - PostScript Format
#NL
PostScript images are normally used by most
#NL
printers and text-processing packages.
SGI - Silicon Graphics, Inc., Format
#NL
An SGI-specific image format, supported by the
#NL
libraries on SGI machines. This format is not
#NL
available on other platforms.
TIFF - Tagged Image File Format
#NL
A large, complex image format used by XPaint
#NL
as its default format.
XBM - X Window BitMap
#NL
A black and white image format used by the
#NL
X Window System.
XPM - X Window PixMap
#NL
XPM images are stored in an ASCII text
#NL
format that can be included in programs.
XWD - X Window Dump
#NL
Used for screen dumps by the X Window
#NL
System.
#BEGIN about "About XPaint"
NOTE: This version of XPaint is released and maintained by
Jean-Pierre Demailly (demailly@ujf-grenoble.fr) and Torsten Martinsen
(torsten@image.dk), except for the PNG code, which is written and
maintained by Greg Roelofs (newt@uchicago.edu). It is based on XPaint
2.1.1, which was written by David Koblas. Please do NOT send bug
reports, etc., to David Koblas.
The message below is the original 'About' message from version 2.1.1.
----------------------------
Hopefully, you find this software useful. If you find any bugs or have
any comments, feel free to contact me.
This software is created as DonateWare. If you enjoy using XPaint,
it would be appreciated if you would make a donation to the
author in the form of cookies, money, employment, or whatever.
If you or your firm is looking to hire a skilled consultant, contact
me for more details.
David Koblas (koblas@netcom.com)
#NL
Extra Mile Consulting
#NL
PO Box 1352
#NL
Mountain View, CA 94042-1352 USA
#BEGIN copyright "Copyright Information"
Copyright (C) 1993, David Koblas
#NL
Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, Torsten Martinsen
#NL
Copyright (C) 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, Jean-Pierre Demailly
#NL
Copyright (C) 1996, Greg Roelofs
#NL
Copyright (C) 1997, Scott D. Nelson
Permission to use, copy, modify, and to distribute this software and
its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee,
provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that
both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in
supporting documentation. There are no representations about the
suitability of this software for any purpose. This software is
provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.