AGI Repeat Readme File
----------------------

Contents
--------

1. Release notes
2. Conditions for use of this program
3. Requirements
4. Short introduction to using the program
5. Important note about using this program and PicEdit at the same time
6. Version History

RELEASE NOTES
-------------

The current release of this software is version 1.02 beta. Note that this is
a beta version of this software, and even though there are no KNOWN bugs,
that doesn't mean there aren't bugs in the software. See the conditions
for use of this program.

The program now accepts negative values for offsets.
 
CONDITIONS FOR USE OF THIS PROGRAM
----------------------------------

This software is provided without any warranty of any kind, and use of this
software is AT YOUR OWN RISK. At the time of this release, there are no
known bugs in the software. It is still STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that you back
up your AGI Picture files before running them through this software. That way
even if something does go wrong and this program screws up your file, you
have a good working copy of the file that you can go back to. Although
there is no reason to believe that this program will do any damage to your
computer, it is a condition for use of this program that the author will not
be held responsible for any damages that occur to your computer, to your
AGI Picture files, or to anything else.

This program is provided free of charge, and you may distribute it freely,
as long as a copy of this readme file accompanies the executable file.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE CONDITIONS OF USE, THEN DO NOT USE THIS
PROGRAM.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
--------------------

This program requires Microsoft Windows 95 or later.

SHORT INTRODUCTION TO USING THE PROGRAM
---------------------------------------

To begin with, you will need an AGI picture resource. This program cannot
create picture resources. It only modifies existing ones. Load the AGI Repeat
program and click the Open button. Select your picture file, and all the
commands in that picture file will be listed in the Command List box. The
Command List box gives an English language name for each command in the
picture file. It does not tell you the parameters to each command. To see
the parameters for a command, select the command in the Command List box. The
hexadecimal code for the command and its parameters will appear in the
"Hex code for current selection" box. Certain commands cannot be repeated.
Specifically, none of the style or color-changing commands can be repeated.
The same is true for the End Picture command. In this version of the
software, the Pen Plotting (Brush) command cannot be repeated, because the
interpretation of the parameters depends on the previous data in the picture
file and I didn't feel like writing code to figure all that stuff out. I may
eventually write the code and release a new version. I don't know.

If you select a command that can be repeated, the input boxes to the right
will be enabled so that you can enter data into them. The input boxes are
as follows:

X offset of each repetition:
        This is the number of pixels to add to every X-coordinate value in
        the command that is to be repeated. For example, if you were
        repeating an absolute line command with coordinates (10, 20) and
        (35, 120), and you entered an x offset of 20, then the FIRST
        repetition of this command would have the coordinates (30, 20) and
        (55, 120). The coordinates of the SECOND repetition are based on the
        coordinates of the FIRST repetition, so the SECOND repetition of
        the command would have the coordinates (50, 20) and (75, 120).

        Minimum Value: -159
        Maximum Value: 159
        Other Restrictions: if the y offset is 0, the x offset cannot also
                            be 0

Y offset of each repetition:
        This is the number of pixels to add to every Y-coordinate value in
        the command that is to be repeated. It works the same as the X offset
        above, but the y-coordinate is changed instead of the x-coordinate.

        Minimum Value: -167
        Maximum Value: 167
        Other Restrictions: if the x offset is 0, the y offset cannot also
                            be 0

It is possible to have an x offset and a y offset at the same time. This will
cause the repetitions to appear in the picture in a diagonal pattern.

NOTE: The next four values function as a sort of bounding box for the
      repetitions. AGI Repeat will create as many repetitions as it can
      without exceeding the borders of this box.

Don't draw left of x:
        This is the minimum x value where the repeated command may draw.
        If ANY PART of the repeated command goes to the left of the minimum
        x value, the repeated command is not added to the picture resource.

        Minimum Value: 0
        Maximum Value: 159
        Other Restrictions: the minimum x cannot be greater than the
                            maximum x

Don't draw right of x:
        This is the maximum x value where the repeated command may draw.
        If ANY PART of the repeated command goes to the right of the maximum
        x value, the repeated command is not added to the picture resource.

        Minimum Value: 0
        Maximum Value: 159
        Other Restrictions: the maximum x cannot be less than the minimum x

Don't draw above y:
        This is the minimum y value where the repeated command may draw.
        If ANY PART of the repeated command goes above the minimum y value,
        the repeated command is not added to the picture resource.

        Minimum Value: 0
        Maximum Value: 167
        Other Restrictions: the minimum y cannot be greater than the
                            maximum y

Don't draw below y:
        This is the maximum y value where the repeated command may draw.
        If ANY PART of the repeated command goes below the maximum y value,
        the repeated command is not added to the picture resource.

        Minimum Value: 0
        Maximum Value: 167
        Other Restrictions: the maximum y cannot be less than the minimum y

Maximum repetitions:
        This is the maximum number of copies of the command that are to
        be created. That is, if it is POSSIBLE to create 14 repetitions and
        you enter 10 for the maximum repetitions, ONLY 10 repetitions will
        be created.

        Minimum Value: 0
        Maximum Value: pretty high
        Other Restrictions: none

When you are ready to insert the repetitions, click the Repeat button. This
will create the repetitions AND SAVE THE PICTURE FILE TO DISK AUTOMATICALLY,
USING THE SAME NAME AS THE ORIGINAL FILE. The original file will be
overwritten so it is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that you back up your picture file
before using this program, just to be sure you don't lose any work.

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT USING THIS PROGRAM AND PICEDIT AT THE SAME TIME
--------------------------------------------------------------------

It is possible to have the same picture file open in both AGI Repeat and
PicEdit at the same time. If you do this, note that CHANGES MADE TO THE
PICTURE IN ONE PROGRAM WILL NOT TAKE EFFECT IN THE OTHER PROGRAM UNTIL YOU
RELOAD THE FILE. That is, if you create repetitions in AGI Repeat, those
repetitions will not show up in PicEdit until you reload the file in PicEdit.
If you make changes to the picture in PicEdit, those changes will not show
up in AGI Repeat until you reload the file in AGI Repeat. This is very
important, because if you make changes to the picture file in both programs
without reloading the file in one of them first, you will lose some of your
work.

VERSION HISTORY
---------------

Version 1.02 Beta

- Finally went ahead and made the program allow negative numbers for
  offsets. The program was actually capable of handling them before, but
  the input boxes prevented the user from entering a negative sign (because
  the input boxes were created with the ES_NUMBER style...I had to create
  a subclass of CEdit to get the behavior I wanted).

Version 1.01 Beta

- After using the program a little myself, I realized there was a crucial
  omission: offsets for the commands. In this version, I have updated the
  program so that each command in the command list box has a number beside
  it that corresponds to the number that you can see above the command in
  the PicEdit buffer box. This makes it about ten million billion times
  easier to find the command you want to repeat.

Version 1.0 Beta

- First release of the software. Works, but does not accept negative offsets.
