********* Welcome to Project 64! The goal of Project 64 is to preserve Commodore 64 related documents in electronic text format that might otherwise cease to exist with the rapid advancement of computer technology and declining interest in 8- bit computers on the part of the general population. If you would like to help by converting C64 related hardcopy documents to electronic texts please contact the manager of Project 64, Cris Berneburg, at 74171.2136@compuserve.com. Extensive efforts were made to preserve the contents of the original document. However, certain portions, such as diagrams, program listings, and indexes may have been either altered or sacrificed due to the limitations of plain vanilla text. Diagrams may have been eliminated where ASCII-art was not feasible. Program listings may be missing display codes where substitutions were not possible. Tables of contents and indexes may have been changed from page number references to section number references. Please accept our apologies for these limitations, alterations, and possible omissions. Document names are limited to the 8.3 file convention of DOS. The first characters of the file name are an abbreviation of the original document name. The version number of the etext follows next. After that a letter may appear to indicate the particular source of the document. Finally, the document is given a .TXT extension. The author(s) of the original document and members of Project 64 make no representations about the accuracy or suitability of this material for any purpose. This etext is provided "as-is". Please refer to the warantee of the original document, if any, that may included in this etext. No other warantees, express or implied, are made to you as to the etext or any medium it may be on. Neither the author(s) nor the members of Project 64 will assume liability for damages either from the direct or indirect use of this etext or from the distribution of or modification to this etext. Therefore if you read this document or use the information herein you do so at your own risk. ********* The Project 64 etext of Rolf Harris' Picture Builder manual, converted to etext by anonymous. PICBLD10.TXT, February 1997, etext #169. ********* ROLF HARRIS' PICTURE BUILDER Written by Paul Jay Setting Up Read all instructions carefully. Check you have followed the correct procedure for setting up your COMMODORE 64. Before switching on, check that your Commodore Cassette Unit is correctly plugged in and ready to use. If you are using a joystick then insert it into Control Port 1. Ensure that the Cassette Unit is kept as far away as possible from the TV. Now switch on both your COMMODORE 64 and TV and turn up the volume. The screen will display the 'Ready' signal with a flashing cursor. Note: It is always advisable to turn the COMMODORE 64 off then on again before loading a new program. This clears all the memory locations and minimises load errors. How to Load the Program 1. Insert the cassette into the cassette unit. 2. Ensure that the tape is fully rewound to the beginning. 3. Hold down the SHIFT key and press the RUN/STOP key. 4. Press PLAY on the cassette unit. 5. The initial screen is displayed once the program has loaded. 6. Press STOP on the cassette unit. Description Build up pictures using graphic characters in any of 16 colours. Use either keyboard or joystick to position the characters on the screen. Pictures may be saved on tape or disk. Controls KEYBOARD or JOYSTICK 1 = Up <- = Down CTRL = Left 2 = Right SPACE BAR = FIRE How to use the Program You are asked which character set you require. Using either the joystick or keyboard position the cursor box over the "C" pf "CBM" if you want the character set shown on the key fronts of your 64, or over the "S" of "Special" if you want the special character set designed for art work. Press FIRE (either the FIRE button or SPACE BAR) and the drawing screen appears. A palette of 16 colours can be seen along the top of the screen, and a row of 17 characters along the bottom. Select a colour by moving the cursor box over the colour you require, then press FIRE. Select a character in the same way. Each character set consists of 254 shapes. To see the full range of characters, place the cursor box over the "@" in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and press FIRE. Each of 16 rows of characters appears in turn. Release the FIRE button or SPACE BAR when the row containing the required character is visible, then select your character. Note: The solid block in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen is available with each row of characters. This block is useful for "erasing" by overdrawing with a solid block of the background colour. Once you have selected a character, place it in any position on the screen by moving the cursor box to the required location and pressing FIRE. A line of characters can be drawn by holding down the FIRE button or SPACE BAR as you move the cursor box. Characters and colours can be changed as many times as you wish by simply selecting new ones in the normal way. Clearing the Screen Move the cursor over the "C" at the top right of the screen then press FIRE. As a safety measure you are asked if you are sure you want the screen cleared. Move the cursor over the "Y" and press FIRE to confirm your choice. The screen is cleared. Changing the Background Colour To change the background colour, move the cursor box over the "B" at the top right of the screen and press FIRE. The background will change to each of the 16 colours in turn. Release the FIRE button or SPACE BAR when the required colour appears. Filling the Screen To fill the screen with any character, simply select the character and colour required, move the cursor over the "F" at the top right of the screen and press FIRE. You are asked if you are sure. Move the cursor over the "Y" and press FIRE to confirm your choice. The screen is then filled with that character/ Saving Pictures Move the cursor over the "S" at the top right of the screen and press FIRE. You are asked if you are sure you want the picture saved. Move the cursor over the "Y" and press FIRE to confirm your choice. Enter the name of the picture by spelling it out using the alphabet at the top of the screen. Place the cursor over each letter in turn and press FIRE. Words can be seperated by placing the cursor over a blank space then pressing FIRE. The name is printed at the bottom of the screen as you select the letters. An error can be deleted by placing the cursor over the "<-" and pressing FIRE. Only one letter can be deleted in this way. If the delete function is used a second time it has no effect unless FIRE is held down, in which case the whole line is deleted. Note: A picture name may contain no more than 16 characters including spaces. Once the name is correct, move the cursor over the "@" (CBM characters) or "OK" (Special characters) and press FIRE. You are now asked what you want on the top line. This will only be printed if you load the picture without the Picture Builder program, and will replace the colour palette. Spell out the required text in the same way as you did the picture name. If you do not require anything on the top line then move straight to "@" or "OK" and press FIRE. Repeat the process for the bottom line. This will replace the row of characters if the picture is loaded without Picture Builder. Note: No more than 40 characters may be entered on the top or bottom line. If you are saving your picture on disk then insert a formatted disk into the disk drive. If saving on tape, insert the tape in the cassette unit and wind it forward slightly to clear the loader tape. Each picture uses approximately 9 blocks of disk space or 1 minute of tape. You are now asked if you are saving on tape or disk. Move the cursor over "T" or "D" and press FIRE. If you are saving on tape then press RECORD and PLAY on the casstte unit. Loading Pictures Pictures can be loaded with or without the Picture Builder program. To load a picture from within the program simply move the cursor over the "L" at the top right of the screen and press FIRE. You are asked whether you are loading from disk or tape. Move the cursor over the "D" or "T" and press FIRE. Spell out the name of the picture exactly as you did when saving it then move to "@" (CBM characters) or "OK" (Special characters) and press FIRE. Alternatively, if you are loading from tape, the first picture on the tape can be loaded by going straight to "@" or "OK" and pressing FIRE. Pictures drawn with the CBM character set can be loaded from disk without Picture Builder by typing: LOAD "picture name",8 then pressing RETURN. If loading from cassette type: LOAD "picture name" then press RETURN. Instead of the words "picture name", be sure to substitute the name you gave the picture when you saved it. Note that the name must be enclosed in quotes. If the picture was drawn using the Special Character set you will need to load the characters first. If loading from disk, insert the program disk into the disk drive and type: LOAD "SET",8 then press RETURN. If loading from cassette, insert the program tape into the cassette unit and type: LOAD "SET" and press RETURN. Type RUN and press RETURN then follow the instructions for loading the actual picture. Demonstration Pictures Ten pictures have been recorded on tape to demonstrate what can be drawn using Picture Builder. Five were drawing using the Special Character set: HOME SKULL CHRICO ROLFHARRIS LAURELHARDY and five using the CBM Character set: TRAIN HOUSE JUMBO BLOCKS SPACEMAN Follow the normal loading instructions to display these pictures. Copying "Set" The Special Character Set may be copied onto another tape or disk along with your pictures. This will make it easier when loading pictures without the Picture Builder program. To copy "Set" from tape, insert the program tape into the cassette unit, rewind to the beginning, type: LOAD "SET" and press RETURN. Press PLAY on the cassette unit. The computer will find Picture Builder plus two unnamed files before finding and loading "Set", if loading from disk, insert the program disk into the disk drive, type: LOAD "SET",8 then press RETURN. "Set" may then be saved onto another tape by inserting the new tape, typing: SAVE "SET" and pressing RETURN. Press RECORD and PLAY on the cassette unit. If saving to disk, insert a formatted disk into the disk drive, type: SAVE "SET",8 and press RETURN. Note: The following information may be useful for machine code programmers who wish to use pictures created with Picture Builder in their own programs - Locations 2048-2070 Contains the BASIC lines: 10 SYS 4072 20 GOTO 20 2072-2071 Contains character data 3072-4071 Contains colour data 4072-4171 Contains machine code program which moves the character data to 1024-2023 (screen), and the colour data to 55296-56295. Pictures created with Picture Builder use only 2K of memory as opposed to approximately 11K for high resolution pictures. COMMODORE BUSINESS MACHINES PTY LTD 5 Orion Road, Lane Cove NSW 2066, (02) 427 4888. MADE IN AUSTRALIA ********* End of the Project 64 etext of Rolf Harris' Picture Builder manual. *********