Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!rochester!udel!mmdf
From: joe@bryans.scc.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: (none)
Message-ID: <13852@louie.udel.EDU>
Date: 24 Apr 89 13:09:03 GMT
Sender: mmdf@udel.EDU
Lines: 52

In article <512@cpsc6b.cpsc6a.att.com> crs@cpsc6b.cpsc6a.att.com (Chris (I'm Outta Here!) Seaman) writes:
>barry@eos.UUCP (Kenn Barry) writes:
>< odin@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (Jon Granrose) writes:
>< >raw@mcnc.org (Russell Williams) writes:
>< >>does anybody have a file to transfer GIF files to IFF so I can import
>< >>them into Professional Page?
>< >
>< >	I don't think there actually is a program to do this.  I have looked
>< >on Compuserve (the originator of the GIF protocol) and not been able to find
>< >one.
>< >I am not a proficient Amiga programmer (I'm
>< >still learning Unix) but I would not think it would be too hard of a program
>< >to write.  It would definately make things easier on people who handle lots
>< >of GIf images.  Any comments?
>< 
>< 	Just one: in what way would it be easier to have a GIF->IFF
>< converter, than just using a GIF display program, and capturing the
>< image?  I don't see the advantage in ease of use. The only limitation
>< I've found in the screen-capture method is that GIFs that are larger
>< than the Amiga screen may get chopped. I get around that by using
>< the FBM utilities to resize the GIF image first, and then capture
>< the resized image.
>< 	The size problem would make a good GIF->IFF converter a
>< bit harder to write than you might think. Ideally, the converter
>< should scrunch a big GIF pic down to Amiga size, and arbitrary
>< resizing is not straightforward, especially on color pics, which
>< need to be RGB-separated before resizing, if you don't want severe
>< degradation of the image.

There is a utility out there called GIF2IP which converts a GIF file to an
IP format file which is compatible with Digi-Paint's RGB files. In other
words, after converting a GIF to IP with this file, you can import it into
Digi-View (NOTE: Not Digi-Paint, but Digi-View the software used with the
digitizer) and render it such as if you had just digitized a picture. Then
after altering the parameters, you can save it to IFF. This method is by
far the best for converting GIF to IFF, since it utilizes New-Teks awesome
HAM+ algorithms. (Reducing the fringes common to HAM pictures). The down
side of this program is that it eats memory! A 1 meg system is not cabable
of converting a large GIF file. I'll upload this file to XANTH or one of 
the other systems on the net. 

Since GIF2IP requires such memory, I usually use a utility such as SCREENX
to save GIF files. I just display a GIF file with HAMGIF and then call up
SCREENX and save IFF file.. Simple as that.

Joe Kuzma (joe@bryans.scc.com)

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