                        =================
                        ==  FSI_Batch  ==
                        =================

(c) Jochen Lueg
Lecturer in Electronics and Computing

 tudor@argonet.co.uk

Home page
http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/tudor

If you like this program and wish to register please send  a 10 
donation to: 

             Care of 
             Jochen Lueg
             The Computer Kitty 
              Room 57
              Limavady College
             Mainstreet
             Limavady 
             BT49 0EX

at the above address. Make sure you include my name, as I have a 
funny bank manager. Eternal gratitude on our part will increase the 
sense of well being and honesty on your part. You will also be given
help with any problems you may encounter.Money donated to the
computer kitty is used to buy upgrades and bits and pieces that the
education authorities are to poor to provide.


================
== The program  ==
================

FSI_Batch will convert any group of files that ChangeFSI under-
stands and convert them according to the options selected. These
options are much like in ChangeFSI. The converted files are stored
in an internal directory or a directory of your own choice if you prefer.

The program will work with an A5000 as long as your version of
ChangeFSI is a recent one (I use 1.15) and the SpriteExtend module
is in the system directory.

Just drop any group of images - not directories - into the window, set
the options and click on convert. Sit back and watch in amazement.

The program installs in the usual way. There is a single window,
divided into three sections. 

As an added feature, Batch_FSI will now convert Acorn sprite files 
contain more than one image. A handy feature which allows you for
instance to get at the individual images of a multi sprite file very
easily.

As this uses some memory, the Runfile contains the entry

Set Sprite$Size 100k

You must change this to the size of the largest sprite you expect.
If you go over 100k you must also change the wimpslot. After 
changing the Runfile, you must re-run the program.

====================
== The main Window  ==
====================

There are three basic areas. Scale, Processing, Output and whats
left.

==========================
== The scale section  (Top left) ==
==========================

X:Y
===

You can select between X:Y and pixel scaling. X:Y together with its
various bump buttons works just like in ChangeFSI. If you select X
as 1:2 and Y as 1:2 the resultant output will be half the size of the
input picture. You can write into the fields or update via the bump
buttons.

Pixels
======
This enables you to enter the size of the output directly. For instance,
if you enter x=100, y=200 the resultant sprite will measure 100 by
200 pixels.

===============================
== The processing section (Top right) ==
===============================

All the options are exactly like in ChangeFSI. If you need more
information read the FSIInfo File inside ChangeFSI.

The processing buttons duplicate some of the options provided by
ChangeFSI, except for the presence of bump buttons, which makes
selection a bit easier. You can still write into the fields, however.

It is unlikely that this feature will be of much use for batch processing,
the buttons are useful for experimentation with single sprites.

An extra feature is the Multi button. When this is set the program will
process Acorn sprites with more than one image. As the sprite names
are not visible, you must be carefull that they don't clash with any
name of the sprites in the same group.

Output
=====

The Sprite - JPEG - PBM radio buttons determine the output format.
The PBM button also opens a window which allows you to format
the output.

The 'Same name' button forces the actual sprite name to be the same
as the sprite directory name. This gets around ChangeFSI's habbit
of giving all sprites the same internal name. With this button set it is
easy to produces multi sprite files by simply dragging all the sprites
into an open sprite directory. For small sprites this is the easiest way
to get thumbprints.

JPEG quality can be adjusted in the usual way.

The Black and White button does just that to the output.

The PhotoCD button gives access to a small window which allows
the size of the output to be fixed. Any additional scaling is applied in
addition to this effect.


The A5000 and RiscPC buttons open small windows which allow the
number of colours and type of the output sprite to be fixed.

=============
== What's left ==
=============
The 'Stop' button stops the process after the current conversion is
finished.

'Reset' will set all buttons to their default value. It overrides any of
your imported settings.

'Clear' will clear the file buffer of all current entries.

'Clear load' will make sure that any new files that you drop onto the
window will be on their own and not be added to the current ones.

'Convert' starts the conversion process.

The 'Update' button updates the command string display in the icon
below. 

The 'Override" button will apply the command string instead of
the current setting. As the command string is in a writeable icon, this
feature allows experienced users to use some of the more esoteric
features of ChangeFSI. Handle with care, however. There is no
syntax checking.

'Validate' turns on a filter that compares the incoming filetypes with
a list of permitted ones. This allows you to drop a mixture of files
onto the window and only graphic files will be allowed through. If
your files contain a textfile or a runfile, these will be filtered out.

You can add to the list of permitted filetypes by loading the file
!FSI_Batch.Store.Mappings and adding your own entries. I have
allowed for 20 different types.

Once a group of files has been dropped onto the window,  they are
added to the ones already stored. Clicking on Convert will start the
conversion process. If you want to clear the memory of all previously
stored files, you must click on the 'Clear' button.

Clicking on 'Open Output' will open the directory which stores
the converted files. If this directory is on a different disc which is
not visible to the filer any more, you may have trouble.

The current setting can be saved via the icon bar menu. They will be
loaded on startup. The 'Reset' button will set all options to their
default values.


I would be interested in comments, as I am still developing
the program.

Known problems.
=============
Some TIFF files force !ChangeFSI into a reporting mode. A window
appears giving all kinds of interesting information and then the
conversions stop. The program noe waits for a key press which cannot
happen. This stops the batch process.

In version 1.15 of ChangeFSI this can be cured by REMing out line
12990. If you have a different version of ChangeFSI use you editor to
finde the word 'value/pointer'. REM out that line or remove it.


FSI_Batch was written on my own machine in my own time.



Obvious thanks are due to Sophie Wilson, who wrote ChangeFSI in
the first place and included a brilliantly easy programming interface
in a program touched by genius. My effort is only a front end to
hers.



