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From: ranjit@grad2.cis.upenn.edu (Ranjit Bhatnagar)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: PowerPacker 2.2a problems
Message-ID: <15175@netnews.upenn.edu>
Date: 5 Oct 89 21:21:17 GMT
References: <1989Sep20.221509.4401@edson.ee.UAlberta.ca> <1837@convex.UUCP> <1858@sactoh0.UUCP> <898@nigel.udel.EDU>
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Reply-To: ranjit@grad2.cis.upenn.edu.UUCP (Ranjit Bhatnagar)
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In article <898@nigel.udel.EDU> new@udel.edu (Darren New) writes:
>In article <1858@sactoh0.UUCP> hrlaser@sactoh0.UUCP (Harv R. Laser) writes:
>>What PP needs is a 'config' file to save parameter changes
>>so one can customize the menu choices to his liking and have
>>the program load with those settings each time it's run. 
>
>Actually, you could write a program that you give it the name of the
>screen and window and a menu option.  That program would wait for that
>screen, then that window, then the menu to appear, and then would
>hook into the input.device and pass on a MenuPick message (or whatever
>it's called) to the window.  Then we would have a generic configuration
>program for anything with menus.  Then we put it in ARexx scripts and
>viola (:-), we're running menu-only program that don't have ARexx
>ports from ARexx!  Now, could this be done with keys, too?  You
>betcha.   Hmmm....  I wish I had as much time as ambitions...

Amazingly enough, this is exactly what DigiPaint 3 from NewTek
does.  Every user function (and a few mysterious extras) has a
command word associated with it, which you can send from an AREXX
script.  There's also a big file on the digipaint disk containing
the correspondence between keys and command words, so you can
change the command-key equivalents by changing this file.
There's another file like that for gadgets, but it's in binary,
so I don't know how the information is stored.

Here, for your amusement, is an AREXX script that will regularize
the pallettes of a set of IFF files.  Use it for making ANIMs with
those silly programs that STILL don't know how to change pallettes
between frames.  DigiPaint 3 must be running when you invoke this.

I haven't actually TESTED this script; it gives you an idea of what's
going on, though.

/* pals.rexx */
/* before using, bring up DigiPaint and set it to the appropriate
   screen parameters: interlace or not, width, and height */
/* it's DESTRUCTIVE!  Will replace each file with the remapped version. */

address 'DigiPaint'

'Aoff'		/* turn everything off */
'Clsc'		/* close digipaint screen so things move faster */
'Load'		/* bring up load picture requester */
'Fnam'||arg(1)	/* specify arg(1) as filename */
'Dnam'		/* clear directory name */
		/* I've tested: if you specify '' as directory
		   and 'ram:pics/foo' as filename, it loads ok */
'Okls'		/* accept this filename */
'Pfil'		/* use pallette from first file */
'Sron'		/* shrink HIRES pictures to fit HAM mode */
'Oklo'		/* go ahead with load */

'Save'		/* save possibly shrunk version on top of old version */
'Okls'

do i = 2 to arg()	/* for each subsequent file */
	'Load'
	'Fnam'||arg(i)
	'Dnam'
	'Okls'
	'Pcur'		/* keep current pallette */
	'Oklo'
	'Save'
	'Okls'
end


/* there you have it. */


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