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#Text in HAM

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#107404From: GreG Tsadilas/SYSOPFeb 4, 1988 7:48 PM
Roger, I don't understand what you mean by "text RENDERING" in HAM mode. I don't know of any Character Generator type programs that support HAM, but you CAN create HAM text on still screens. If you need to Move the Text Around, THE DIRECTOR can facilitate you. Give me some more info to go on. Hopefully we can come up with something for ya!
#107419From: Roger F. BeckerFeb 4, 1988 8:22 PM
Very much obliged for your interest. Here's the story… I've digitized a couple of dozen images in HAM/Interlace to be used in a business video presentation due Monday. I need to add text to the images (the images I clean up in Digi-Paint; very nice). Then, I plan to use TV*Show (which will arrive FedEx tomorrow) to script the presentation. My problem is, I can't find a text rendering program (such as TV*Text) that'll work with HAM images. TV*Text is nice for Hi-Res, but even _then_ only supports 8 colors! I don't want to move brushes or text around. I just want a program that'll slap text (nicely rendered text, with borders and drop shadows and extrusion and all that other neat stuff) onto a HAM/Interlace screen. In fact, if _that's_ not available, I'd take ANYTHING that'll allow me to enter text onto a HAM screen. I'll live without the rendering. So far, I've tried TV*Text, Video Titler (both work with HIRES), E/FX; none work. I've tried rendering text in HIRES in TV*Text, exporting it as an 'Overlay' (their name for a brush file) and importing that into Digi-Paint. In addition to being a royal pain in the butt, Digi-Paint artifacts those beautiful, clean, clear HIRES text brushes in garbage. I'm coming close to a deadline and I'm losing my mind! If anyone else has any suggestions, please feel free to jump right in here. And again, GreG, thanx. Roger
#107426From: GreG Tsadilas/SYSOPFeb 4, 1988 8:52 PM
Roger, Ok….you can do it. It just requires some work. Here is something I have been successful with. Go into Deluxe Paint ans load in your HAM file. If the HAM file is in 320×400, then use Dpaint in 320×400. Load in the HAM pic, you will get a Dpaint requester that has some garbage text in it. Click on the [LOAD] gadget. You HAM pi will load, but will look like garbage. What you have now though, is the 16 Color Palette that Digi-Paint uses in the first 16 regs of the Dpaint Palette. Now, create your text in Dpaint using that Palette. When done, save the picture. Now, go into Digi-Paint and Load this Picture, clicking on Palette from picture gadget. Copy this to the SPARE SCREEN. Then Load in your HAM Picture. All you have to do now is MERGE from Spare. NOTE: Have your Digi-Paint settings set to SOLID, with Transparency ON. The results will be CLEAN text on the HAM picture. It will be CLEAN beause the TEXT Palette is the same as the HAM pic palette. And that Palette is used to get RID of Jaggies. Another suggestion would be to use THE DIRECTOR. It uses a Script language to manipulate your images. It also has a Built in Text facility. If using The Director, you can load your HAM pic, and superimpose any text on it. This method is preferable to the above because you don't alter your HAM pic every time you want to change the text. You just edit the text in your Director script. One drawback though, you use system fonts (or any PD fonts, commercial fonts, etc). This means that they can only be ONE color. But, with a little trickery, like overlaying the text in black, then offsetting it a few pixels in another color, you can get cast shadows, etc. I hope this has given you some help or insight into finishing your project. Let me know how things turn out, and most of all….GOOD LUCK!
#107510From: Roger F. BeckerFeb 5, 1988 10:53 AM
You saved the day! The real key, I see now, is using those first 16 colors to create text so Digi-Paint doesn't artifact the hell out of it. Instead of using your merge idea, I just import the text as a brush from D'Paint – much easier. However, I can't seem to get Digi and Deluxe to work at the same time. Even using only one bit plane (black and white for text is ok) and choosing SWAP from Deluxe's load options doesn't seem to leave enough chip RAM. You'd think the other two and a half MEG of fast RAM would be good for something. *Sigh* Obese Agnus, where are you when I need you. The Director sounds like the ticket, but it's Friday and the project is due on Monday. TV*Show is coming in FedEx today and I really don't feel like learning any more new programs. Oh well. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again; you were an enormous help.
#107510From: Roger F. BeckerFeb 5, 1988 10:53 AM
You saved the day! The real key, I see now, is using those first 16 colors to create text so Digi-Paint doesn't artifact the hell out of it. Instead of using your merge idea, I just import the text as a brush from D'Paint – much easier. However, I can't seem to get Digi and Deluxe to work at the same time. Even using only one bit plane (black and white for text is ok) and choosing SWAP from Deluxe's load options doesn't seem to leave enough chip RAM. You'd think the other two and a half MEG of fast RAM would be good for something. *Sigh* Obese Agnus, where are you when I need you. The Director sounds like the ticket, but it's Friday and the project is due on Monday. TV*Show is coming in FedEx today and I really don't feel like learning any more new programs. Oh well. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again; you were an enormous help.
#107426From: GreG Tsadilas/SYSOPFeb 4, 1988 8:52 PM
Roger, Ok….you can do it. It just requires some work. Here is something I have been successful with. Go into Deluxe Paint ans load in your HAM file. If the HAM file is in 320×400, then use Dpaint in 320×400. Load in the HAM pic, you will get a Dpaint requester that has some garbage text in it. Click on the [LOAD] gadget. You HAM pi will load, but will look like garbage. What you have now though, is the 16 Color Palette that Digi-Paint uses in the first 16 regs of the Dpaint Palette. Now, create your text in Dpaint using that Palette. When done, save the picture. Now, go into Digi-Paint and Load this Picture, clicking on Palette from picture gadget. Copy this to the SPARE SCREEN. Then Load in your HAM Picture. All you have to do now is MERGE from Spare. NOTE: Have your Digi-Paint settings set to SOLID, with Transparency ON. The results will be CLEAN text on the HAM picture. It will be CLEAN beause the TEXT Palette is the same as the HAM pic palette. And that Palette is used to get RID of Jaggies. Another suggestion would be to use THE DIRECTOR. It uses a Script language to manipulate your images. It also has a Built in Text facility. If using The Director, you can load your HAM pic, and superimpose any text on it. This method is preferable to the above because you don't alter your HAM pic every time you want to change the text. You just edit the text in your Director script. One drawback though, you use system fonts (or any PD fonts, commercial fonts, etc). This means that they can only be ONE color. But, with a little trickery, like overlaying the text in black, then offsetting it a few pixels in another color, you can get cast shadows, etc. I hope this has given you some help or insight into finishing your project. Let me know how things turn out, and most of all….GOOD LUCK!
#107419From: Roger F. BeckerFeb 4, 1988 8:22 PM
Very much obliged for your interest. Here's the story… I've digitized a couple of dozen images in HAM/Interlace to be used in a business video presentation due Monday. I need to add text to the images (the images I clean up in Digi-Paint; very nice). Then, I plan to use TV*Show (which will arrive FedEx tomorrow) to script the presentation. My problem is, I can't find a text rendering program (such as TV*Text) that'll work with HAM images. TV*Text is nice for Hi-Res, but even _then_ only supports 8 colors! I don't want to move brushes or text around. I just want a program that'll slap text (nicely rendered text, with borders and drop shadows and extrusion and all that other neat stuff) onto a HAM/Interlace screen. In fact, if _that's_ not available, I'd take ANYTHING that'll allow me to enter text onto a HAM screen. I'll live without the rendering. So far, I've tried TV*Text, Video Titler (both work with HIRES), E/FX; none work. I've tried rendering text in HIRES in TV*Text, exporting it as an 'Overlay' (their name for a brush file) and importing that into Digi-Paint. In addition to being a royal pain in the butt, Digi-Paint artifacts those beautiful, clean, clear HIRES text brushes in garbage. I'm coming close to a deadline and I'm losing my mind! If anyone else has any suggestions, please feel free to jump right in here. And again, GreG, thanx. Roger