Instruction Manual - The Broadcast Store

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® Instruction Manual Postscript Graphics and Character Generator with Timebase Correction Model PS4000S and Model PS4000SC ® Part No. MANL-0739-01 Safety and Emissions Trademarks and Copyrights WARNING! To reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock, do not expose this appliance to rain or other moisture. If you spill liquid on the equipment, disconnect the power cord and consult authorized personnel. Moisture can damage internal parts. © The Videonics logo and PowerScript are registered trademarks of Videonics, Inc. CAUTION RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL. The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure that might be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons. The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (service) instructions in the literature accompanying the appliance. AV CAUTION: For continued protection against fire, replace only with fuses of correct rating, as listed on rear panel. WARNING! This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual might cause interference to radio communications. It has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A computing device pursuant to Subpart B of Part 15 of the FCC Rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference when operated in a commercial environment. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause interference, in which case the user, at his own expense, will be required to take whatever measures may be required to correct the interference. The use of properly shielded cables is required to maintain compliance with the Class A limits for radiated emissions. This equipment has been tested with a Class A computing device and has been found to comply with Part 15 of FCC Rules. See Instruction Manual. Operation in a residential area may cause unacceptable interference to radio and TV reception requiring the operator to take whatever steps are necessary to correct the interference. This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class A limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications. Le présent appariel numérique n’émet pas de bruits radioélectriques dépassant les limites applicables aux appareils numériques de la classe A prescrites dans le Règlement sur le brouillage radiioélectrique édicté par le ministrère des communications du Canada. VIDEONICS PS-4000 PowerScript PostScript Generator Instruction Manual, © 1996-1998. No part of this manual may be reproduced in hard copy, electronically, or by any other means without the expressed, written permission of Videonics, Inc. PostScript is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. Other product and brand names might be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and are hereby acknowledged. Portions copyright © 1988-1995 Aladdin Enterprises, Menlo Park, California. All rights reserved. Portions copyright © 1993 Soft Horizons. The Jean Camil font is provided by Jacques Bertrand e-mail — [email protected]. The Holstein and Good Dog fonts are supplied by Ethan Dunham, Fonthead Design. Web Site — http://www.fonthead.com/. Videonics PowerScript Instruction Manual designed, written, and illustrated by Jim Rogers, Mouse Powered Productions e-mail — [email protected] Disclaimers Subject to change without notice. The PowerScript software is based, in part, on the work of the Independent JPEG Group. Television screens are simulated. CONTENTS 1 Introducing PowerScript PowerScript Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Checking PowerScript Package Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Identifying PowerScript Jacks and Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using this Instruction Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conventions Used in this Instruction Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Equipment Setups Basic Setup Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Checking Power Voltage and Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Providing Power to PowerScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining Your Equipment Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using PowerScript as a Stand-Alone/Live Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using PowerScript as a Primary Input Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using PowerScript to Feed a Switcher’s DSK (DownStream Key) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using PowerScript’s Internal Key Downstream from a Switcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using PowerScript in a Video Production, On-Line Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using PowerScript in Single-Monitor Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Configuring PowerScript in Single-Monitor Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Configuring PowerScript with a Single Monitor having Two Input Jacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Completing the Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 4 4 5 8 9 14 15 15 16 17 18 20 22 23 24 24 25 26 27 PowerScript Tutorial Lesson 1 • Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting PowerScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Accessing the Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a New Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 2 • Creating the Opening Page, Adding and Modifying Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Naming a Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding Objects to a Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Object Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aligning Objects on a Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding the Remaining Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 3 • Creating a Background, Saving a Page, and Playing a Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Playing the Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 30 31 31 33 33 34 35 36 37 40 40 Contents Lesson 4 • Adding the Title Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating the Title Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding Graphic Objects to the Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 5 • Adding the Credits Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating the Credits Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Playing Back the Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 6 • Managing Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renumbering Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 7 • Rolling the Credits Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Roll Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 8 • Setting Page Duration and Transitions for the Opening Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 9 • Setting a Target Duration for the Title Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lesson 10 • Playing Back the Project Pages with Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Summary .............................................................. 4 Working with Menus Standard and Power Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Power Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Working with Menus and Menu Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sliders and Text Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Moving Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Closing Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Menu Navigation Keyboard Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 41 41 42 45 45 47 47 48 49 49 50 52 53 54 56 56 58 59 60 60 61 Working with Objects Objects and Page Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Placing Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Geometric Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Text Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graphic Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clock Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Default Object Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selecting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bounding Rectangle and Object Handles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Object Selection Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the SELECT Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Working with Text Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selecting and Editing Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Object Outlines while Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Working with Graphic Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deleting Graphic Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing Object Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nudging Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cutting, Copying, Pasting, and Clearing Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aligning Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 66 66 66 66 67 67 68 68 69 70 70 70 71 72 72 74 75 76 77 Contents Modifying Object Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Object Color (Fill) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating Object Drop Shadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating Object Outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Assigning Attributes to Text Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Word Wrap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the FONTS Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining Attributes Assigned to Text Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deleting Fonts from a PC Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 77 78 78 80 81 82 84 85 85 Using PowerScript Starting and Stopping PowerScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Doing a System Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Working with Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Saving Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Using Project Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Using the Project/Page Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Creating New Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Copying an Existing Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Renaming an Existing Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Deleting a Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Opening an Existing Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Working with Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Selecting a Page to Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Creating Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Renumbering and Reordering Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Saving Pages (Auto Save Option) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Deleting Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Working with Transitions and Page Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Using Roll and Crawl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Dynamically Controlling Roll & Crawl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Working with Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Style Files and Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Applying Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Creating and Changing Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Removing Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Working with Backgrounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Creating a Solid Color Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Using a Video Signal as a Background (Using PowerScript’s Internal Keyer) . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Using a Graphic as a Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Playing Projects and Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Page Imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Pre-Rendering Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Using Play Mode and Edit Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Using Single Monitor Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Using the Playback Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Contents 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions Working with Hot Borders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Working with the Safe Title Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Working with GPI, Time Triggers, and Auto-Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using GPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Time Triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Auto-Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Playing a Project from a Remote Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Displaying a Graphic from a Remote Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PowerScript Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Time & Date Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GPI Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Video Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Studio Model Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Serial (RS-232) Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Internet Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PC Card Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Working with Files and Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Files and Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PC Card Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Directory Information and Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File Information and Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Working with PC Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Start Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Start Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erasing and Formatting PC Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using PC Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modifying PC Cards with a Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Graphic Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About File Type Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PowerScript-Provided Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About Other Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating Efficient Graphic Files for Use with PowerScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Text in EPS Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Square Pixel Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating Transparency Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Remapping the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 115 115 115 117 118 118 119 120 121 122 122 123 124 125 125 125 126 127 128 128 129 130 130 131 132 133 134 134 134 136 136 137 140 140 141 142 144 Contents 8 PowerScript Computer Connections About Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Client/Server Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Sneaker Net” Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Serial Cable Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Computer Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ethernet PC Card Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PowerScript/Macintosh/FreePPP Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Configuring PPP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Configuring the PowerScript Serial Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Establishing a Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using PowerScript with Macintosh Fetch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Running the Fetch Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Fetch Shortcut to PowerScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connecting PowerScript with IBM-Compatible Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LAN Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Direct Connection Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transferring a File to PowerScript from a Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Closing the Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Common FTP Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 148 148 149 149 150 150 150 151 153 154 155 156 157 158 158 160 162 162 163 PowerScript Reference PowerScript Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Align Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Background Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clip Menu ............................................................. Create Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Files Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fill Menu ............................................................. Fonts Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graphics Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Outline Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Project/Page Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Project Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Select Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Time & Date Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GPI Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Video Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Studio Model Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Serial (RS-232) Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Internet Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PC Card Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shadow Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Text Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transitions Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transition Effects Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 179 180 181 182 183 184 184 185 185 186 186 187 188 189 190 192 Contents A PowerScript Fonts Font Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deleting Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Importing Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Accented Fonts and Special Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B Using the PowerScript Mouse and Keyboard Mouse Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mouse Pointer (or Cursor) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mouse Buttons and Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mouse Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cleaning the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C 195 195 195 196 197 199 199 200 200 201 202 PowerScript-Provided Graphic Files Graphic Illustration Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 PowerScript Test Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 D E PowerScript Control Keys PowerScript Specifications PowerScript Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inputs .............................................................. Outputs .............................................................. Digital Control Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Video Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Timebase Corrector/Synchronizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Character Generator Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graphics .............................................................. Roll and Crawl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keying .............................................................. Styles .............................................................. Others .............................................................. 217 217 217 218 218 218 218 219 219 219 220 220 220 Contents List of Tables Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Table 4 Table 5 Table 6 Table 7 Table 8 Table 9 Table 10 Table 11 Table 12 Table 13 Table 14 Table 15 Table 16 Table 17 Table 18 Contacting Videonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Instruction Manual Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Menu Access Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Menu Navigation Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Results of Roll/Crawl Speed Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Roll & Crawl Speed Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 PowerScript Styles by Function Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Play Mode and Edit Mode Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Hot Border Page Navigation Control Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Acceptable File Type Extensions for Graphic Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Square Pixel Factors for NTSC and PAL Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Keyboard Remapping Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Common FTP Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Menu Control Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Original PowerScript Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Accented and Special Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 PowerScript Graphic Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 PowerScript Test Pattern Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 Contents List of Figures Package Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 PowerScript Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 PowerScript Rear Panel • PS4000S and PS4000SC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Connecting Keyboard and Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 PowerScript as a Stand-Alone / Live Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 PowerScript as a Primary Input Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 PowerScript Feeding a Switcher’s DSK (DownStream Key) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Using PowerScript’s Internal Key downstream from a Switcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 PowerScript in a Video Production, On-Line Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 PowerScript in Single-Monitor Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 PowerScript with a Single Monitor having Two Input Jacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Cable Types and Jacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Standard and Power Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Power Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 PowerScript Menu Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Examples of PowerScript Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Objects, Page Layers, and Stacking Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Placing Objects / CREATE Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Placing Objects / GRAPHICS Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Selecting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Object Handles and Bounding Rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 SELECT Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Selecting Text in a Text Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 MODIFY Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 CLIP Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 ALIGN Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 FILL Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 SHADOW Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 OUTLINE Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 TEXT Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Using Word Wrap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 FONTS Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 PROJECT/PAGE Menu — Project-Related Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 PROJECT/PAGE Menu—Page-Related Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Transitions and Page Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 TRANSITIONS Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 TRANSITION EFFECTS Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Roll and Crawl Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Numeric Keypad Playback Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 SETUP Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 SETUP: DATE & TIME Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 SETUP: DISPLAY Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 SETUP: VIDEO Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 SETUP: STUDIO Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 SETUP: PC CARD Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 1 Introducing PowerScript Welcome to PowerScript, and thank you for buying Videonics products. Whether you’re an experienced video producer, or just getting started, you’ll find PowerScript easy-to-use and extremely rich in features and technology. This instruction manual helps you get started. It takes you step-by-step through the installation of the equipment, contains a brief tutorial that introduces you to the basic PowerScript features and functions, provides detailed instructions for using PowerScript for more advanced applications, and contains a reference section explaining the various menus and their options. This symbol appears when help is available In addition to this instruction manual, PowerScript provides an on-line, context-sensitive help facility. You can access the help facility while using PowerScript. The help system provides brief reminders for using PowerScript functions. It does not replace this instruction manual, but rather complements it with brief ticklers to help you remember what a particular function does and how to use it. Videonics produces the highest quality products possible while also making them easyto-use. You should be able to find out just about everything you need to know about PowerScript in this instruction manual. However, if you have any difficulties with your equipment, our Technical Support staff is available to assist you. The following table contains information for contacting Technical Support and other departments at Videonics. Chapter 1 Introducing PowerScript Table 1: Contacting Videonics Location Address / Phone Number / URL Corporate Headquarters Videonics, Inc. 1370 Dell Avenue Campbell, CA 95008 USA Main Telephone Number (408) 866-8300 Fax Number (408) 866-4859 World Wide Web http://www.videonics.com General Information [email protected] List Servers (See “About List Servers” below) http://www.videonics.com/ Videonics-Support.html#listserver Customer-Extra (See “About Customer-Extra” below) http://www.videonics.com/ customer-extra/PowerScript/ FTP Site ftp://services.videonics.com USA and CANADA ONLY Technical Support (408) 370-9963 Technical Support e-mail [email protected] Videonics offers a wide range of support options including telephone, Internet e-mail, a World Wide Web site, a standard warranty, factory service, and expanded service plans. Support options vary in different countries. Please check with your Videonics distributor for information about local support options. About List Servers About Customer-Extra 2 Videonics offers several list servers for users interested in video editing and post-production. List Servers use ordinary e-mail to exchange information among subscribers. A List Server relays all messages to all subscribers, allowing you to converse with hundreds of others who share your interests. The Videonics-sponsored List Servers are free and only Internet e-mail service is needed—Web or other Internet access is not required. For information, send a message with subject HELP to [email protected]; or visit the Web site referenced in the table above. The Videonics Customer Extra page is available to PowerScript owners. It contains upgrade information, tips for using PowerScript, and downloadable accessory software (such as software for converting graphic file formats). Videonics PowerScript PowerScript Features POWERSCRIPT FEATURES PowerScript is a video Character Generator (CG) that uses the PostScript language to image characters and artwork on the video screen. PowerScript generates high-quality video suitable for broadcast and high-end productions. The unit includes an internal keyer, which allows you to combine graphic and text objects with moving video without the need of an external mixer or switcher. PowerScript also provides a key-out signal that you can use with external switchers. Defined Work Components PowerScript uses the concept of Projects, Pages, and Objects to help manage your work. A project is any defined collection of work—such as title credits for a video production, or text overlays for a specific video. Every project consists of one or more pages. Pages normally consist of one or more objects. One project page might contain, for example, a movie title, another might contain a cast of characters, and yet another might contain other movie credits. Any given page can contain hundreds of objects, and any given project can contain numerous pages. You can create pages that are larger than the screen on which they appear. This gives you the ability to do rolls and crawls by scanning (or, scrolling) across the page. Graphics You can create basic graphics (such as lines, rectangles, squares, ovals, and circles) using the PowerScript menus. Graphics can use a full range of colors, transparency, and shadow attributes. If you have a computer platform, you can create EPS, PCX, JPEG, and GIF graphics using various software applications. Graphics can be input to PowerScript, combined with other graphics or text, and imaged on a television screen. Because PowerScript interprets the PostScript language, you can easily use clip art and font collections in PowerScript productions. For detailed instructions and additional information, see “Using Graphic Files” on page 134. Objects The elements you use on-screen with PowerScript are called objects. Objects can be independently positioned, deleted, altered, and managed on the screen. Types of objects include text, basic graphics (such as rectangles and circles), imported graphic elements, and clock elements (which show date and time). Transitions PowerScript offers a wide variety of transitions (such as dissolves and wipes) that you can use to artfully switch from one project page to another. Independent or Integrated You can operate PowerScript as a stand-alone device, or you can integrate it with a computer platform. In either case, you can generate graphics and characters using PowerScript’s keyboard and/or mouse pointing device. You can connect PowerScript to a Macintosh, Windows, UNIX, Amiga, and other computer platforms. The connection can be made through a serial (RS-232) connection or an Ethernet network. With PowerScript Communicator you can easily control as many as 10 different PowerScript units using a PC/Windows-based software application. See the PowerScript Communicator manual for full details. 3 Introducing PowerScript Chapter 1 GETTING STARTED The PowerScript package contains the primary components you need to get started. However, because there are so many different ways in which you can set up your equipment, it isn’t practical to include all of the various cables and connectors you might need for your particular installation. The remainder of this section describes many important PowerScript components. Please read the material before beginning installation. Checking PowerScript Package Contents Take inventory of the PowerScript package to make sure it contains the items shown in the following illustration. Package Contents 2 angle brackets/screws (for rack mounting) Power Cord Quick Reference Card PowerScript Start Card Mouse Instruction Manual Keyboard Keyboard Template Your package might contain different materials, depending on the country in which you purchased PowerScript. If anything is missing, contact the retailer from which you purchased PowerScript for any necessary replacements. Registering Your Purchase Please take the time to register your PowerScript purchase. This ensures that we can contact you when product upgrades become available or relay important news to you. You can register on-line or use the registration card enclosed in your PowerScript package. Note Videonics does not sell its customer list, so your registration information remains completely confidential at all times. On-Line Registration To register on-line, use your Web Browser to access the Videonics Customer Extra site at the following location: http://www.videonics.com/customer-extra/PowerScript/ When you arrive at the Customer Extra Page, locate and click the Register link. This takes you to the On-Line Registration page where you can fill out the necessary information and submit the form. 4 Videonics PowerScript Identifying PowerScript Jacks and Panels Identifying PowerScript Jacks and Panels Examine the PowerScript front and rear panels and compare them to the illustrations that follow to orient yourself to the controls and jacks. Front Panel Power Light—Lights when the unit is powered on. Keyboard Jack—Accepts the Keytronics™ keyboard, which is included in your PowerScript package. You can use most AT-type keyboards with PowerScript. Serial Mouse Jack—Accepts a standard computer serial-type mouse, which is included in your PowerScript package. PC Card Slot—Accepts a Type I, II, or III PC Card. An identical PC Card slot is included on the rear panel. PC cards (sometimes called PCMCIA Cards) store fonts, graphics, projects, and other items. You can insert two PC cards into PowerScript at the same time—but the combined power supply current for the two cards cannot exceed 1.5 Amps. PC cards can be obtained from many computer hardware outlets. You might want to purchase several PC cards to store different projects and backup copies of your work. Ethernet connections can be made using a PC Card Ethernet adapter. See Chapter 8, PowerScript Computer Connections, for further information. Rear Panel Power Connector, Switch, and Fuse—The power cord (included in your package) connects to the three-prong plug. Use the toggle switch to turn PowerScript on and off. The fuses are located behind the fuse door. PC Card Slot—Identical to the PC Card slot on the front panel. RS-232 Jack—Use to connect a modem or computer to PowerScript. A cable (not included) is required to make the connection. RS-232 connection is provided via a female, 9-pin (DB-9) jack. See “Serial Cable Connection” on page 149 for additional information. Component IN / Component OUT— (These connectors are available only on the PowerScript Model PS4000SC.) Includes inputs and outputs in analog component format— YUV for PAL/625 models and Y, R-Y, B-Y for NTSC/525 models. NTSC/525 models can be set to use Betacam or MII standard levels. See “Studio Model Settings” on page 124 for more information. GPI Jacks (2)—Connect a GPI (General Purpose Interface) unit to either or both of these jacks. Use of GPI is optional. A contact closure on these inputs triggers a project. If you are using an external device to trigger PowerScript, connect its GPI trigger output to one of the GPI inputs. GP1 and GP2 perform identically. See “Using GPI” on page 115 for more information. Sync Loop—The IN and OUT jacks are wired together so that you can form a daisy chain. The termination switch terminates the line with 75-ohms, for use when PowerScript is at the end of sync loop. Use of sync loop is optional. A reference, or sync, input is provided for connection to your studio’s time base reference (house black). A sync output is also included and the termination can be switched. See page 123 for further instructions. SC Phase Adjustment—The Coarse SC adjustment varies SC delay over approximately a 360 degree range in steps of 32 degrees for NTSC/525 systems and 26 degrees for PAL/625 systems. The Fine adjustment is continuously variable over a +/- 30 degree range. 5 Chapter 1 Introducing PowerScript PowerScript Front Panel Power Light Keyboard Jack PC Card Slot (Slot A:) Serial Mouse Jack PowerScript Rear Panel • PS4000S and PS4000SC The Component IN Jacks and Component OUT Jacks are available only on the PowerScript Model PS4000SC u Component IN Jacks PC Card Slot (Slot B:) Video IN Jacks COMPONENT IN Y SERIAL (RS-232) AC INPUT VOLTAGE 100-240 VAC 50-60 Hz u Component OUT Jacks R-Y (U) COMPONENT OUT B-Y (V) Y GPI-2 IN R-Y (U) B-Y (V) SYNC GPI-1 Preview OUT OUT SC PHASE TERM FINE COARSE VIDEO IN COMPOSITE VIDEO OUT Y/C COMPOSITE Y/C PREVIEW KEY OUT OUT AV RISK OF FIRE REPLACE FUSE AS MARKED PC CARD (PCMCIA) TYPE I, II, III FUSE RATING 1A FOR 120 VAC .5A FOR 220 VAC SYNC Loop Power Connector Switch Fuse Box 6 RS-232 Jack GPI Jacks (2) SC Phase Adjustment Video OUT Jacks Key OUT Videonics PowerScript Identifying PowerScript Jacks and Panels VIDEO IN Jacks—Connect a video input device (such as a VTR) to either the composite or Y/C jack. If you plan to use PowerScript to key titles atop video (using the internal linear keyer), connect a video source to one of the VIDEO IN jacks—composite or Y/C. Switching between these jacks occurs automatically. That is, if you plug a device into the Y/C jack, PowerScript automatically disables the composite jack. VIDEO OUT Jacks—Connect a video output device (such as a monitor or VTR) to either the composite or Y/C jack. The device connected to the VIDEO OUT jack displays finished pages when you play them. The device does not normally show pages as you create them, nor does it show menus or the mouse cursor (see PREVIEW OUT below). The exception to this is that you can use the same monitor as your preview and Video OUT monitor, in which case menus, the mouse cursor, and work-in-progress does appear on this device (see “Using PowerScript in Single-Monitor Mode” on page 24 for more information). PREVIEW OUT—Connect the device you will use for previewing your work, such as a video monitor. Use only a composite device. All titles and graphics you create appear on the preview monitor. This monitor displays the menus, mouse cursor, and work-in-progress. KEY OUT—For downstream key use. Use of the KEY OUT jack is optional. A monochrome key signal, provided in composite video format, is used for downstream key applications in which keying is performed by a switcher. When using this jack, create a connection between the KEY OUT jack and the switcher’s keying input. Character fill is carried by the Video OUT jack. See “DSK” on page 107 for further information. 7 Chapter 1 Introducing PowerScript USING THIS INSTRUCTION MANUAL This PowerScript Instruction Manual helps you use PowerScript efficiently and productively. You can use it as a learning tool when you first begin using PowerScript, then subsequently use it as a reference source when you need to do specific procedures. Take a moment to understand the manual’s organization. This helps you quickly find information you want when you need it. Table 2: Instruction Manual Organization 8 Chapter Description of Content Chapter 1, Introducing PowerScript Describes PowerScript features, front and rear panel components, and manual organization Chapter 2, Equipment Setups Discusses basic procedures you should complete before setting up your equipment, ways to configure the equipment, and related information. Chapter 3 Tutorial Contains a series of lessons designed to acquaint you with basic PowerScript operations. Chapter 4 Working with Menus Instructions for working with the PowerScript menus and their controls. Chapter 5 Working with Objects Explains how to work with PowerScript objects—the basic building blocks for your productions. Chapter 6 Using PowerScript Step-by-step procedures for using the most common PowerScript features. Chapter 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions Procedural instructions explaining less frequently used PowerScript functions. Chapter 8 PowerScript Computer Connections Explains how to set up and use PowerScript with a computer platform, including serial, Internet, and Ethernet connections and functions. Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference Brief descriptions of PowerScript menus and menu options organized by menu. Appendix A PowerScript Fonts Lists and provides samples of the PostScript fonts provided with PowerScript Appendix B Using the PowerScript Mouse and Keyboard Basic instructions for using the PowerScript mouse pointing device and keyboard. Appendix C PowerScript-Provided Graphic Files Describes the graphic files included with PowerScript. These are illustration files and test patterns. Appendix D PowerScript Control Keys Listings of all PowerScript control keys. Same as the PowerScript Quick Reference Card, but with a bit more information. Appendix E PowerScript Specifications General specifications and features for the PowerScript models. Videonics PowerScript Conventions Used in this Instruction Manual Conventions Used in this Instruction Manual This manual uses various conventions to help you visually identify certain types of information. Some of these conventions might not be clear to you until you begin the tutorial lessons in a later chapter. Special formatting identifies tips, notes, cautions, and warnings. Tip A tip provides suggestions and other information designed to help you use PowerScript in the most efficient manner. Note A note highlights information deserving special attention. CAUTION A caution lets you know to proceed carefully before doing a procedure because there is a risk of losing data or damaging your equipment. WARNING! A warning identifies procedures that could damage your equipment, your data, or even yourself. Menus PowerScript uses menus to provide access to its features and functions. PowerScript menus work much like restaurant menus—you select the items (or, options) you want from the menu. However, instead of one menu, PowerScript provides you with several different ones as a way of organizing functions. In this manual, the names of menus appear in UPPERCASE BOLDFACE type. PowerScript provides two different types of menus—Standard menus and Power menus. Standard menus appear on-screen as rather large rectangles. Power menus are smaller versions of the Standard menus and they normally appear at the outer edges of the screen. Most Standard menus have a Power menu version. Due to their compact size and location, you can leave some or all of the Power menus on-screen as you work, thus providing quick and easy access to PowerScript functions while consuming a minimum amount of screen space. Most illustrations in this manual show the Standard versions of the menus. See “Standard and Power Menus” on page 56 for details. Restaurant menus contain names of food selections—PowerScript menus, however, contain names of options. In this manual, option names appear in italics. You might, for example, encounter a phrase such as “Select the Box option in the CREATE menu.” The phrase means you should open the CREATE menu, then select the Box option. To select an option, you normally point to it with the mouse pointer, then click the left-hand mouse button. This is the Standard version of the CREATE menu— This is the Power version. The Standard and Power versions of the CREATE menu contain the same options. Not every Standard menu has a Power version. 9 Chapter 1 Introducing PowerScript Control Keys Ctrl C PowerScript control keys provide shortcuts to menus, options, and other features. For example, to access the Copy option on the CLIP menu, you normally display the menu, then click the option. Using control keys, you can do the same task by typing a couple of keys on the keyboard—much more efficient and considerably faster. You enter control keys by pressing certain keys in combination with other keys. For example, when you press and hold down the key labeled Ctrl, then type the letter C, it is the same as displaying the CLIP menu and clicking the Copy option. This manual identifies control key combinations by separating the keys with the plus (+) symbol. For example, the Ctrl and C key combination above is expressed as Ctrl+C. Similarly, a combination of three keys would be expressed as Ctrl+Shift+F1. Some control keys do not actually include the Ctrl key—for example, entering Shift+Esc closes all menus currently on the screen. These are still identified as control keys. The PowerScript Quick Reference Card lists all available control keys. The keyboard template (included in the PowerScript package) identifies most of the control keys and can be placed directly on the keyboard for easy reference. PowerScript also provides “key mapping” options for keyboards used in different countries. For example, if you are using a German keyboard, simply select that keyboard layout from the PowerScript key mapping options. You can then use your keyboard in the standard manner. See “Remapping the Keyboard” on page 144. Enter Keys 10 The PowerScript keyboard contains two separate Enter keys—one on the keypad and one on the standard keyboard. Normally, you can use the keys interchangeably. When a distinction is necessary, this instruction manual refers to the Enter key on the standard keyboard as the Alpha Enter key, and refers to the Enter key on the keypad as the Numeric Enter key. Videonics PowerScript File Names and File Type Extensions Conventions Used in this Instruction Manual While working with PowerScript, you work with different types of files. (Files store information and other data that PowerScript needs to operate.) PowerScript uses a standard computer-based scheme (known as the “DOS File Naming Convention”) for naming files. File names consist of eight characters, followed by a period, followed by a three character file type extension. The eight character limit means you need to be creative coming up with meaningful file names. On the other hand, you can use only pre-defined character combinations as file type extensions because these extensions tell PowerScript what the file contains and how to use it. This manual explains when and how to use file type extensions. Examples of file names and extensions follow. File Name and Extension Description CARTOONS.PRJ Identifies a project file. The name of the project is CARTOONS. The PRJ file type extension tells PowerScript this is a PRoJect file. LOGO.EPS Names a graphic file. The name of the file is LOGO. The EPS file type extension tells PowerScript this is an Encapsulated PostScript-type file. BOX1.APS Names a special type of EPS file. The file type (APS) indicates that the file contains transparency information which allows parts of the image to be transparent. GOOMBA.JPG Names a graphic file. The name of the file is GOOMBA. The JPG file type extension tells PowerScript this is a JPEG-type graphic file. MOONSHOT.PLA An automatic playback file. The filename, MOONSHOT, identifies a specific project. The PLA file type extension tells PowerScript to automatically PLAy the project (in this case, MOONSHOT.PRJ) when it receives the PLA file. STARTUP.PRJ Identifies an automatic playback file. The file name, STARTUP, identifies a special project that tells PowerScript to play the project whenever it starts up. The PRJ file type extension, as above, indicates this is a PRoJect file. 11 Notes 2 Equipment Setups This chapter contains instructions for setting up PowerScript to work in conjunction with other equipment—such as video monitors, VTR’s (Video Tape Recorders), VCR’s (Video Cassette Recorders), mixers, and switchers. You can also include computer equipment in your setup. See Chapter 8, PowerScript Computer Connections, for information about and instructions for these types of setups. You can set up PowerScript and related equipment in many different ways. This chapter describes the following common equipment setups—it does not attempt to describe every possibility: • Using PowerScript as a Stand-Alone/Live Device • Using PowerScript as a Primary Input Device • Using PowerScript to Feed a Switcher’s DSK (DownStream Key) • Using PowerScript’s Internal Key Downstream from a Switcher • Using PowerScript in a Video Production, On-Line Studio • Using PowerScript in Single-Monitor Mode Chapter 2 Equipment Setups If none of the setups shown in this chapter matches yours exactly, you can derive the proper connections by studying the examples that most closely resemble your own. See “About Cables” on page 27 for information about various types of cables you might use with PowerScript. If you are experienced with video equipment and cables, you can probably set up your equipment just by referring to the diagrams. If the diagrams don’t tell you everything you need to know, read the accompanying text and follow the steps in the sequence described. If you haven’t already checked your Videonics PowerScript package to make sure you have all the components, see “Checking PowerScript Package Contents” on page 4. Regardless of your setup, you need to complete some preliminary steps, as explained in the following section. BASIC SETUP PROCEDURES The steps you need to complete before doing anything else include: 1 Connect the keyboard and mouse to PowerScript. 2 Check power voltage and fuses. 3 Provide power to the unit. Connecting Keyboard and Mouse POWER KEYBOARD SERIAL MOUSE PC CARD (PCMCIA) TYPE I, II, III Front Panel Connectors Keyboard Mouse CAUTION When connecting the keyboard and mouse, always make sure the plugs and jacks are properly aligned. DO NOT FORCE the plug into the jack or you might damage your equipment. We recommend you use the Keytronics keyboard provided in your package, but you can use most AT-style keyboards. Connecting the Keyboard The Keytronics keyboard has a permanently attached cord with a special plug at the end. Look at the end of the plug—it has five connector pins that correspond to the holes in the keyboard jack on the front panel. ¨ 14 Orient the pins on the plug to the holes in the jack, then gently push the plug into the jack. Check to make sure you have a solid connection. Videonics PowerScript Connecting the Mouse Checking Power Voltage and Fuses The mouse also has a permanently attached cord with a different plug at the end, shaped to ensure that the plug connects to the jack only one way. 1 Orient the holes in the plug to the pins on the jack, then gently push the plug into the jack. 2 Once you establish a solid connection, gently tighten the two thumb screws on either side of the plug to secure the plug to the jack. Do not overtighten—finger-tight is sufficient. Checking Power Voltage and Fuses PowerScript ships with two fuses already installed. They are either 1 Amp, 250 Volt fuses sufficient for 120VAC operation, or 0.75 Amp 250 Volt rating for operating at 220240VAC. Your PowerScript fuses have been installed to match the AC line voltage in the country where you purchased the product. You can verify which fuses are installed by examining the “Power Connector, Switch, and Fuse Box” on the rear panel. The AC line voltage is indicated in a red box directly to the right of the On/Off switch. CAUTION If you aren’t sure whether your power source is 120 VAC or 220-240 VAC, check with your local power company for the information. Normally, having the wrong fuses installed only results in blown fuses—however, other damage might occur. To change the PowerScript fuses: 1 Turn off PowerScript. 2 Locate the Power Connector, Switch, and Fuse box at the left side of the rear panel, then detach the power cord from the rear panel. (Refer to “Identifying PowerScript Jacks and Panels” on page 5 for the location of items.) 3 Locate the small recess directly to the right of the red window on the rear panel. 4 Use a small-tipped screwdriver to pop-open the fuse door. 5 Once the door is open, slide the red fuse carrier out of the unit. 6 Replace the fuse or fuses as required. 7 Reassemble the fuse carrier and slide it back into the unit. 8 Replace the fuse box door. 9 Re-attach the power cord. Providing Power to PowerScript To provide power to PowerScript: 1 Locate the power cord in the PowerScript package. 2 Attach the female end of the power cord to the three-prong jack on the rear panel. 3 Plug the male end of the power cord into an appropriate power outlet. 4 Set the power switch to the On position, then check to make sure the green power light on the front panel lights. If the light does not come on, check your connections on the rear panel and at the power outlet. 5 Set the power switch to the Off position to turn PowerScript off. 15 Chapter 2 Equipment Setups DETERMINING YOUR EQUIPMENT SETUP This section contains examples of various setups you might use with PowerScript, along with simple variations. Study each example and determine which one most closely fits your equipment setup. Then follow the instructions in that section to set up your equipment. If you don’t feel confident about setting up your equipment, consider taking the equipment manuals to a local video equipment dealer and ask for their assistance. You might need to purchase additional cables to complete the connections. Here again, your local video equipment dealer is a good source for gathering what you need. Preview vs. Program Monitor The following setup examples use two terms to describe the way you use monitors with PowerScript—Preview monitor and Program monitor. Any type of monitor can serve as a Preview or Program monitor. The Preview monitor is your working monitor. That is, the PowerScript interface components (such as menus) appear on the Preview monitor. Therefore, the Preview monitor is where you compose productions. The Program monitor displays your production when you play it back. For example, you might create a page of production credits, then play it back on the Program monitor. This manual uses the following pictures to designate between Preview and Program Monitors where necessary. Preview Monitor Program Monitor If you have only one monitor in your setup, it can serve as both the Preview and Program monitor. See “Using PowerScript in Single-Monitor Mode” on page 24 for details. 16 Videonics PowerScript Using PowerScript as a Stand-Alone/Live Device USING POWERSCRIPT AS A STAND-ALONE/LIVE DEVICE This setup uses PowerScript, the keyboard, and the mouse as a stand-alone device—that is, PowerScript is not connected to any other devices (with the exception of the monitor or monitors). PowerScript as a Stand-Alone / Live Device Preview Monitor Video IN COMPONENT IN Y SERIAL (RS-232) AC INPUT VOLTAGE 100-240 VAC 50-60 Hz R-Y (U) COMPONENT OUT B-Y (V) Y GPI-2 IN R-Y (U) B-Y (V) SYNC GPI-1 OUT SC PHASE TERM FINE COARSE VIDEO IN COMPOSITE VIDEO OUT Y/C COMPOSITE Y/C PREVIEW KEY OUT OUT AV RISK OF FIRE REPLACE FUSE AS MARKED PC CARD (PCMCIA) TYPE I, II, III FUSE RATING 1A FOR 120 VAC .5A FOR 220 VAC Program Monitor Video IN To configure PowerScript as a Stand-Alone/Live Device: 1 Connect the Preview monitor to the PREVIEW OUT connector on the PowerScript rear panel. 2 Connect the Program monitor to the VIDEO OUT connector, also on the rear panel. Turn to “Completing the Setup” on page 26 to configure PowerScript to use two separate monitors for Preview and Program, then complete the required steps. 17 Chapter 2 Equipment Setups USING POWERSCRIPT AS A PRIMARY INPUT DEVICE This setup uses a Preview monitor, a Program monitor, and a mixer or switcher. If you also connect a VTR (optional), you can create titles on moving video on the Preview monitor, see the results on the Program monitor, and record the finished program back out to the VTR. PowerScript as a Primary Input Device Preview Monitor Video IN COMPONENT IN Y SERIAL (RS-232) AC INPUT VOLTAGE 100-240 VAC 50-60 Hz R-Y (U) COMPONENT OUT B-Y (V) Y GPI-2 IN R-Y (U) B-Y (V) SYNC GPI-1 OUT SC PHASE TERM FINE COARSE VIDEO IN COMPOSITE VIDEO OUT Y/C COMPOSITE Y/C PREVIEW KEY OUT OUT AV RISK OF FIRE REPLACE FUSE AS MARKED PC CARD (PCMCIA) TYPE I, II, III FUSE RATING 1A FOR 120 VAC .5A FOR 220 VAC Program Monitor Video IN Program OUT VTR OUT Video IN Mixer or Switcher Video IN VTR (optional) 18 Videonics PowerScript Using PowerScript as a Primary Input Device To configure PowerScript as a primary input device: 1 Connect the Preview monitor to the PREVIEW OUT connector on the PowerScript rear panel. 2 Connect the mixer or switcher to the VIDEO OUT connector, also on the rear panel. Optionally, connect the Program monitor to the Program OUT connector on the mixer or switcher. Also optionally, connect the VTR to the VTR OUT connector on the mixer or switcher. In a live broadcast situation, you would probably omit the VTR. Turn to “Completing the Setup” on page 26 to configure PowerScript to use two separate monitors for Preview and Program, then complete the required steps. 19 Chapter 2 Equipment Setups USING POWERSCRIPT TO FEED A SWITCHER’S DSK (DOWNSTREAM KEY) With this setup you can feed PowerScript’s VIDEO OUT signal to the key input of a switcher. You can optionally connect the Program monitor to the switcher’s Video Out. PowerScript Feeding a Switcher’s DSK (DownStream Key) Preview Monitor Video IN COMPONENT IN Y SERIAL (RS-232) AC INPUT VOLTAGE 100-240 VAC 50-60 Hz R-Y (U) COMPONENT OUT B-Y (V) Y GPI-2 IN R-Y (U) B-Y (V) SYNC GPI-1 OUT SC PHASE TERM FINE COARSE VIDEO IN COMPOSITE VIDEO OUT Y/C COMPOSITE Y/C PREVIEW KEY OUT OUT AV RISK OF FIRE REPLACE FUSE AS MARKED PC CARD (PCMCIA) TYPE I, II, III FUSE RATING 1A FOR 120 VAC .5A FOR 220 VAC Fill IN Key IN Video OUT Switcher Video IN Program Monitor Note Some downstream keying applications require the ability to adjust chroma, horizontal, and key delays. PowerScript provides limited chroma delay adjustments. Additional delays must be done using external delay products. 20 Videonics PowerScript Using PowerScript to Feed a Switcher’s DSK (DownStream Key) To configure PowerScript to feed a switcher’s DSK: 1 Connect the Preview monitor to the PREVIEW OUT connector on the PowerScript rear panel. 2 Connect the PowerScript VIDEO OUT connector, also on the rear panel, to the Fill IN connector on the switcher. 3 Connect the PowerScript KEY OUT connector (rear panel) to the Key IN connector on the switcher. Optionally, connect the Program monitor to the Video Out connector on the mixer or switcher. Turn to “Completing the Setup” on page 26 to configure PowerScript to use two separate monitors for Preview and Program, then complete the required steps. Tip Another possible setup is to connect the PowerScript VIDEO OUT to the Switcher’s Video IN (rather than Fill IN). With this setup you can use the main output signal as a separate source, or send it to the Fill IN for DSK. 21 Chapter 2 Equipment Setups USING POWERSCRIPT’S INTERNAL KEY DOWNSTREAM FROM A SWITCHER Using PowerScript’s Internal Key downstream from a Switcher Preview Monitor Video OUT Video Feed Video IN COMPONENT IN Y SERIAL (RS-232) AC INPUT VOLTAGE 100-240 VAC 50-60 Hz R-Y (U) COMPONENT OUT B-Y (V) Y GPI-2 IN R-Y (U) B-Y (V) SYNC GPI-1 OUT SC PHASE TERM FINE COARSE VIDEO IN COMPOSITE VIDEO OUT Y/C COMPOSITE Y/C PREVIEW KEY OUT OUT AV RISK OF FIRE REPLACE FUSE AS MARKED PC CARD (PCMCIA) TYPE I, II, III FUSE RATING 1A FOR 120 VAC .5A FOR 220 VAC Program Monitor GPI Device GPI Time Trigger GPI 1 • GPI 2 Video IN GPI 3 • GPI 4 Video Distribution VTR To configure PowerScript’s Internal Key downstream from a switcher: 1 Connect the Preview monitor to the PREVIEW OUT connector on the PowerScript rear panel. 2 Connect the Video Feed (such as a signal from a mixer or switcher) to the VIDEO IN connector, also on the rear panel. Optionally, connect the video distribution channel or the VTR to the PowerScript VIDEO OUT connector. Also optionally, connect the VTR to the Program Monitor. 3 If you want to use a GPI device to trigger events, connect it to the GPI 1 and/or GPI 2 connectors on the PowerScript rear panel. Turn to “Completing the Setup” on page 26 to configure PowerScript to use two separate monitors for Preview and Program, then complete the required steps. 22 Videonics PowerScript Using PowerScript in a Video Production, On-Line Studio USING POWERSCRIPT IN A VIDEO PRODUCTION, ON-LINE STUDIO PowerScript in a Video Production, On-Line Studio Preview Monitor Video IN COMPONENT IN Y SERIAL (RS-232) AC INPUT VOLTAGE 100-240 VAC 50-60 Hz R-Y (U) COMPONENT OUT B-Y (V) Y GPI-2 IN R-Y (U) B-Y (V) SYNC GPI-1 OUT SC PHASE TERM FINE COARSE VIDEO IN COMPOSITE VIDEO OUT Y/C COMPOSITE Y/C PREVIEW KEY OUT OUT AV RISK OF FIRE REPLACE FUSE AS MARKED PC CARD (PCMCIA) TYPE I, II, III FUSE RATING 1A FOR 120 VAC .5A FOR 220 VAC Program Monitor Source Source Video OUT Video IN Source Mixer Source VTR To configure PowerScript for use in a video production, on-line studio: 1 Connect the Preview monitor to the PREVIEW OUT connector on the PowerScript rear panel. 2 Connect the mixer to the VIDEO IN connector, also on the rear panel. Optionally, connect the VTR to the VIDEO OUT connector (PowerScript rear panel). Also optionally, connect the Program Monitor to the Video Out connector on the VTR. Turn to “Completing the Setup” on page 26 to configure PowerScript to use two separate monitors for Preview and Program, then complete the required steps. 23 Chapter 2 Equipment Setups USING POWERSCRIPT IN SINGLE-MONITOR MODE If you have only one monitor in your setup, you can set up PowerScript to use that monitor as both Preview and Program. See “Configuring PowerScript in Single-Monitor Mode” below. If the monitor has dual input jacks, you can use one jack for the Preview Monitor and the other for the Program Monitor. When using PowerScript, use the monitor switch to toggle the monitor between Preview and Program. See “Configuring PowerScript with a Single Monitor having Two Input Jacks” later in this section. Tip Both of the following setups recommend connecting the Preview/Program Monitor to the PowerScript PREVIEW OUT connector. However, you can connect to the VIDEO OUT connector rather than PREVIEW OUT. The VIDEO OUT connector provides a higher quality signal. In either case, the Preview/Program Monitor displays the same information. Note In order to create this setup, you must have a composite monitor attached to the PREVIEW OUT connector the first time you turn on PowerScript. Thereafter, you can set up PowerScript to work in Single-Monitor Mode, as explained herein. Configuring PowerScript in Single-Monitor Mode PowerScript in Single-Monitor Mode Preview / Program Monitor Video IN COMPONENT IN Y SERIAL (RS-232) AC INPUT VOLTAGE 100-240 VAC 50-60 Hz AV RISK OF FIRE REPLACE FUSE AS MARKED FUSE RATING 1A FOR 120 VAC .5A FOR 220 VAC 24 PC CARD (PCMCIA) TYPE I, II, III R-Y (U) COMPONENT OUT B-Y (V) Y GPI-2 IN R-Y (U) B-Y (V) SYNC GPI-1 OUT SC PHASE TERM FINE COARSE VIDEO IN COMPOSITE VIDEO OUT Y/C COMPOSITE Y/C PREVIEW KEY OUT OUT Videonics PowerScript Configuring PowerScript with a Single Monitor having Two Input Jacks To configure PowerScript in Single-Monitor Mode: Setup Option 1 Connect the monitor to the PREVIEW OUT connector on the PowerScript rear panel. 2 Start PowerScript. See “Starting and Stopping PowerScript” on page 88 for instructions. 3 Enter Ctrl+Right-click to display the MAIN MENU. 4 Click the Setup option. 5 When the SETUP menu appears, click the Display Parameters option to display the following menu. Close Box SETUP: DISPLAY Select Single Monitor option 1 2 100% (NORMAL) 75% AUTO Video 6 Select the single monitor option (1) in the Monitors section (as shown above). For additional information, see “Display Parameters” on page 122. 7 Click the Close Box to close the SETUP menu. You can use PowerScript in single-monitor mode in combination with most of the other setups described in this chapter. Just keep in mind that the same monitor serves as both the Preview and Program. Configuring PowerScript with a Single Monitor having Two Input Jacks PowerScript with a Single Monitor having Two Input Jacks Preview / Program Monitor Video IN 1 Video IN 2 COMPONENT IN Y SERIAL (RS-232) AC INPUT VOLTAGE 100-240 VAC 50-60 Hz R-Y (U) COMPONENT OUT B-Y (V) Y GPI-2 IN R-Y (U) B-Y (V) SYNC GPI-1 OUT SC PHASE TERM FINE COARSE VIDEO IN COMPOSITE VIDEO OUT Y/C COMPOSITE Y/C PREVIEW KEY OUT OUT AV RISK OF FIRE REPLACE FUSE AS MARKED PC CARD (PCMCIA) TYPE I, II, III FUSE RATING 1A FOR 120 VAC .5A FOR 220 VAC To configure PowerScript to use a single monitor with dual input jacks: 1 Connect one of the monitor jacks to the PowerScript VIDEO OUT connector on the rear panel. This connection establishes the Program Monitor. 2 Connect the other monitor jack to the PowerScript PREVIEW OUT connector, also on the rear panel. This connection establishes the Preview Monitor. Do the steps in the following section, “Completing the Setup”, to configure PowerScript to use the same monitor for Preview and Program. 25 Chapter 2 Equipment Setups COMPLETING THE SETUP The normal, default setup is for your configuration to use two monitors—Preview and Program. Therefore, in most circumstances you don’t need to do anything further to complete your setup. However, if you want to confirm that your setup is correct, or if both monitors don’t work correctly after you start PowerScript, use the following procedure to verify your settings. You can perform the following setup steps when you do “Lesson 1 Getting Started” in Chapter 3, PowerScript Tutorial. That lesson shows you how to start PowerScript and access the MAIN MENU. In that case, you can skip steps 1 and 2, below. To configure PowerScript to use two monitors: Setup Option 1 Start PowerScript. See “Starting and Stopping PowerScript” on page 88 for instructions. 2 Enter Ctrl+Right-click to display the MAIN MENU. 3 Click the Setup option. 4 When the SETUP menu appears, click the Display Parameters option to display this menu. Close Box SETUP: DISPLAY 1 2 Select Dual Monitor option 100% (NORMAL) 75% AUTO Video 5 Select the dual monitor option (2) in the Monitors section. For additional information, see “Display Parameters” on page 122. 6 26 Click the Close Box to close the SETUP menu. Videonics PowerScript About Cables ABOUT CABLES Cables typically carry the output signal from one device to the input of another device. The signal can then be displayed or recorded on the second device. The types of cables and jacks you might use with PowerScript include the following: Cable Types and Jacks Y/C (S-Video) Jack BNC Jacks BNC to RCA Adapter Y/C Plug BNC Plug RCA Plug Y/C (S-Video) Jack—The PowerScript jacks that accept an S-Video connector are labeled Y/C. RCA Cable—Most consumer-level electronics use RCA-type jacks and cables. Most jacks on the PowerScript rear panel are BNC video jacks. To make a connection between an RCA cable and the BNC video jacks on PowerScript, you need a BNC to RCA Adapter. 27 Notes 3 PowerScript Tutorial This tutorial acquaints you with basic PowerScript operations and procedures. It does not cover everything PowerScript can do. We recommend you work through all of the tutorial lessons from beginning to end. You should be able to complete the tutorial in about an hour or less. Once you complete the tutorial, you can easily go on to the more advanced operations and procedures described in later chapters. If you aren’t familiar with mouse and keyboard operations, turn to Appendix B, Using the PowerScript Mouse and Keyboard, to learn how to use these devices. The tutorial assumes you know how to use the mouse and keyboard. SCENARIO Your production company, SIGHTnSOUND, needs to produce three title screens for an upcoming video production. You’ve been assigned the task of creating the title screens using your new PowerScript—which you just finished unpacking and setting up with your other equipment. The production consists of an Opening, Title, and Credits pages. Chapter 3 PowerScript Tutorial Production Design ..... Videographer ..... A SIGHTnSOUND Presentation Gimme Shelter Written by ..... Editor ..... ChristopherKIRK JamieSTUART ErnestHEMING JackPARIS, A.C.E. Lighting ..... StevenSPINBURG The Story of the American Red Cross Executive Producer ..... Title Opening FrancisCOPRA Credits LESSON 1 GETTING STARTED This lesson explains how to start PowerScript, access the MAIN MENU, and create new projects. Starting PowerScript Make sure PowerScript is connected to a suitable power supply outlet. To start PowerScript: 1 Locate the power switch on the rear panel and move it to the On position. The green power light glows on the front panel. (If the light does not glow, you have a faulty power connection.) After a few moments, this picture appears on the Preview monitor: RD T CA STAR This picture appears any time you start PowerScript without first inserting the Start Card. It’s PowerScript’s way of telling you to insert the Start Card so it can begin work. 2 Locate the Start Card that came with the PowerScript package and insert it into the front PC card slot. Hold the Start Card as shown in the preceding picture—with the label up, the PowerScript name at the top, and the Videonics name and logo at the bottom. Then gently push the card into the slot until you meet resistance and it won’t go any further. It takes approximately 15 to 30 seconds for PowerScript to complete the start-up procedures. The first page of the Demo project then appears (this is because the Demo project was the last one opened on the start card). The Demo project contains many examples of title screens you can create with PowerScript. After completing the tutorial you might want to return to the Demo project to see the other types of things you can do. Note Normally the first page of the last project you were working with appears on the screen when you start PowerScript. Mouse Cursor 30 Move the mouse around a little on the desk and notice that the mouse cursor (shown at the left) moves in unison. You use the cursor (or, pointer) to select and work with the items you create in this tutorial. Videonics PowerScript Accessing the Main Menu Accessing the Main Menu The MAIN MENU is the PowerScript “control center.” You access all other options (such as Create, Clip, Text, Shadow, Fill, and so forth) from this location. You can display the MAIN MENU at any time. ¨ Move the cursor toward the upper left corner of the screen, press and hold down the Ctrl key, then click the Right mouse button (this is hereafter referred to as a “rightclick”). The PowerScript MAIN MENU appears. CREATE Ctrl CLIP TEXT SHADOW FILL OUTLINE SETUP HELP Ctrl+Right-Click displays MAIN MENU SELECT MODIFY ALIGN BKGND TRANS PROJ/PG POWER MENUS Creating a New Project A PowerScript Project is a defined unit of work, such as the task you’ve been assigned to create material for the SIGHTnSOUND production. A Project is comprised of one or more Pages, such as the individual title screens you’ll be creating. You need to give each project a name so that you can later identify it. For this exercise, name the new project TUTORIAL. You can easily change the name of any project whenever you want to do so. 1 Move the mouse to position the cursor immediately over the small picture (or, option) in the MAIN MENU that is labeled Proj/Pg—near the lower right corner. TEXT SHADOW FILL Place the mouse pointer directly on top of the Proj/Pg option in the MAIN MENU OUTLINE SETUP HELP N BKGND 2 TRANS POWER MENUS PROJ/PG Click the Left mouse button—the PROJECT/PAGE menu appears. PROJECT/ PAGE PROJECTS PAGES COMMENT COMMENT SnS Opening A:\ AUTO.APS A:\ AUTO.EPS A:\ DEMO 1. CHANGE PG. # CUT NEW 1 2 COPY RENUMBERALL DELETE PASTE COPY AUTO-SAVE XYZZY RENAME DELETE NEW: ABOVE NEW: BELOW NEW: END SAVE 31 Chapter 3 PowerScript Tutorial Note Hereafter, the process of pointing to an item then clicking the Left mouse button is referred to as “selecting” or “clicking.” For example, “Select the Proj/Pg option in the MAIN MENU,” or “Click Proj/Pg.” For now, we’re concerned only with the items on the left side of the menu—that is, those items under Projects. The selected item, A: Demo, identifies the project that is currently displayed on the screen. The A: portion of the item indicates that the project resides on the PC card inserted in the front panel PC card slot—that is, the Start Card you inserted earlier. If the card contained other projects, they would also appear in this list. AUTO.APS and AUTO.EPS are automatic display graphics—they won’t be covered in this tutorial. 3 To begin creating the new project, click the New button—just below the project list. The NEW PROJECT menu appears. 4 Click the text box just below the New Project Name option. A vertical line (called a text cursor) appears in the box indicating you can type information in the box. 5 Type the word “TUTORIAL”—the name for the project—without the quote marks. Note Don’t type quote marks throughout this tutorial unless specifically directed to do so. The characters .PRJ appear to the right of the text box. This is a “file type extension”—it tells PowerScript what type of file (a PRoJect file) you are creating. PowerScript automatically appends the file type extension, so you don’t have to enter the characters. The A:(FRONT) option should already be selected. If not, click the radio button just to the left of the option to select it. This identifies the PC card and slot where the new project will be stored. 6 Click in the Comment text box to insert the text cursor, then type “SnS” (for SIGHTnSOUND). 7 Click the New button. PowerScript takes a moment to create the new project on the PC card. 8 Click the close box (the small box in the upper left corner of the New Project menu) to remove the menu from the screen Tip You can also press the Esc key to remove the menu. When you return to the PROJECT/PAGE menu, the new project you just created appears in the project list. The project is selected in the list, as indicated by the gray box surrounding it. PROJECT/ PAGE PROJECTS PAGES COMMENT COMMENT SnS Selected Project 1. A:\ AUTO.APS A:\ AUTO.EPS A:\ DEMO A:\TUTORIAL CHANGE PG. # CUT NEW 1 2 COPY RENUMBERALL DELETE PASTE COPY AUTO-SAVE XYZZY RENAME DELETE NEW: ABOVE 32 NEW: BELOW NEW: END SAVE Videonics PowerScript Lesson 2 Creating the Opening Page, Adding and Modifying Objects LESSON 2 CREATING THE OPENING PAGE, ADDING AND MODIFYING OBJECTS You’re ready to create the first page for the new project and add some objects to the page. You’ll also learn how to modify objects by setting their “attributes” and repositioning them on the page. Any time you create a new project, PowerScript automatically creates one blank page. To confirm this, look at the right side of the PROJECT/PAGE menu and you see a page with the number 1. PROJECT/ PAGE PROJECTS PAGES COMMENT COMMENT SnS This is the new, blank page that PowerScript creates automatically whenever you create a new project. If the page isn’t visible here, drag the scroll box up or down to locate it. 1. A:\ AUTO.APS A:\ AUTO.EPS A:\ DEMO A:\TUTORIAL CHANGE PG. # CUT NEW 1 2 COPY RENUMBERALL DELETE PASTE COPY AUTO-SAVE XYZZY RENAME DELETE NEW: ABOVE NEW: BELOW NEW: END Use the buttons and other controls in this part of the PROJECT/PAGE menu to renumber, create, save, and delete pages. SAVE Naming a Page You can use the new default page as the first one for the new project. (In a later lesson you’ll learn how to add more pages to the project.) However, the page does not currently have a name, so add a name (or, comment) for later reference. 1 With the page selected in the page list, click in the Comment text box just above the list to insert the text cursor. 2 Type “Opening” then press Alpha Enter. The text you entered becomes both the comment for and the name of the page. PowerScript keeps track of pages by their numbers, not by their name or comment. Page names and comments help you identify pages. 33 Chapter 3 PowerScript Tutorial Adding Objects to a Page The Opening page consists of several oval (or, circle) objects, a box object, and three text objects. A SIGHTnSOUND Presentation 1 Click the Create option on the MAIN MENU to display the CREATE menu. Oval Object Option 2 When the CREATE menu appears, click the Oval object option, then click the menu close box to remove the menu. A new oval object appears at the center of the page. A rectangle (called the bounding rectangle) surrounds the object. Small squares with symbols inside (called object handles) appear at each corner of the bounding rectangle. Move Handle Rotate Handle Bounding Rectangle Skew Handle 100 a 110 a 100 % Note On an NTSC unit, to make an oval a perfect circle, display the MODIFY menu (Ctrl+F7). Then enter 110 in the Horizontal Scale text box and 100 in the Vertical Scale. On a PAL unit, leave Horizontal Scale at 100 and set Vertical Scale to 109. Then, close the MODIFY menu. 3 34 Resize Handle The object handles provide a way to manipulate an object. Along with the bounding rectangle, they also provide a visual indication that the object is currently “selected.” In order to work with an object (such as moving, rotating, or changing its attributes), you must first select it. MODIFY aa The oval object is not a perfect circle, which is due to the fact that the screen proportions of television monitors are not one-to-one. See following note. Click in any open area of the page away from the oval object you just created. This “deselects” the object, and its bounding rectangle and object handles disappear. Click the object once more to display its bounding rectangle and handles. Videonics PowerScript Setting Object Attributes 4 Click the Resize handle and drag down and to the right. Release the mouse button when the oval object is about twice its original size and as near to a perfect circle as you can make it. 5 Click the Move handle and drag the oval object about one-third of the way down from the top-left corner of the screen. Compare your page to the one shown at the left. Make sure the oval object is selected before continuing with the following steps. Setting Object Attributes 1 Click the Fill option on the MAIN MENU to display the FILL menu. Fill On/Off FILL HUE 100 SATURATION 100 BRIGHTNESS 50 OPACITY 100 Slider Knobs Text Boxes The FILL menu determines the object’s color and opacity (or, transparency). You can approximate colors using the slider knobs for each of the values—but to create precise values, it’s best to enter them in the text boxes. 2 Click inside the Hue text box and enter “100” to specify the color red. 3 Using the same procedure, enter “100” in the Saturation text box, and “70” in the Brightness text box. Leave the Opacity text box set to 100. 4 In order for the fill attribute you’ve specified to appear with the object, you must select the Fill On/Off option—that is, the box must contain an X. If the box does not contain an X, click the box to select the option—otherwise, leave it as is. 5 Close the FILL menu. You now have a red circle on the page. In the following steps, you create the “bull’s-eye target” by copying, pasting, resizing, and setting the fill color for the other elements of the target. 6 Page You have just used control keys as a shortcut. PowerScript provides many different control key combinations that you can use to display menus, select menu options, and so forth, rather than having to display a menu and click an option every time. In this particular case, the control key you entered (hereafter expressed as Ctrl+C, or whatever combination applies) is the same as displaying the CLIP menu and selecting the Copy option. From here on in this tutorial, we normally use control keys rather than the menus and options for the sake of efficiency. For a complete list of control key combinations, see the PowerScript Quick Reference Card. Clipboard The Copy option you just executed places a duplicate of the selected object (the oval) on the PowerScript clipboard—a temporary area in memory. The original object remains on the page, and the clipboard now contains a copy of the object. Copy 7 Paste With the oval object still selected, press and hold the Ctrl key on the keyboard, type the letter C (for Copy), then release both keys. Deselect the oval object on the page (by clicking in any open area of the page), then enter Ctrl+V (for Paste). The Ctrl+V control key executes the Paste option—which places the current contents of the clipboard on the page. You now have two oval objects on the page (one directly on top of the other) with the one you just pasted currently selected. You can now change the size and fill color of the new object. 35 Chapter 3 PowerScript Tutorial 8 Enter Ctrl+F3 (the F3 key is located at the top of the keyboard) to display the FILL menu. 9 Using the procedure you learned earlier, set the following values for the object’s fill attributes: Hue=0, Saturation=0, Brightness=100, Opacity=100. The new oval object now has a white fill color. 10 Enter Ctrl+F7 to display the MODIFY menu, then… MODIFY aa 75 % Enter 75 in the Uniform Scale text box. This decreases the object’s size to 75% of its current dimensions. 11 Close the MODIFY menu. The page now contains two oval objects—a large object with a red fill color, and a smaller object with a white fill color. This page needs four separate oval objects to form the bull’s-eye target; so you need to create two more oval objects. You can do this using the same basic steps you used to create the second oval object. 12 Enter Ctrl+C to copy the second oval object to the clipboard. 13 Deselect the current object, then enter Ctrl+V to paste the clipboard contents to the page. 14 Set the fill color for the new object to the same as the original oval object—Hue=100, Saturation=100, Brightness=70, Opacity=100. When you want to find out the fill attributes of an existing object (such as the original oval object), select that object then display the FILL menu. When the menu appears, the text boxes show the object’s fill attribute values. 15 Modify the size of the new object to 65% of its original size. 16 Repeat the four preceding steps to create the fourth and final object. Set its fill color to white and resize it to 50% of its original dimensions. Compare your page with the one shown at the left. Aligning Objects on a Page Chances are that the four oval objects you just created to form the bull’s-eye target are evenly aligned with one another. Just to make sure they are aligned, however, do the following steps. 1 Enter Ctrl+A to select all objects on the page. 2 Enter Ctrl+Alt+C to align all objects horizontally on their centers. Note that this is a slightly different control key combination—it involves pressing and holding both the Ctrl key and Alt key while typing the letter C. 3 Enter Ctrl+Alt+M to align the objects vertically on their centers. ALIGN 36 Ctrl+Alt+C and Ctrl+Alt+M are shortcut control keys for the Align Center and Align Middle options on the ALIGN menu, respectively. Videonics PowerScript Adding the Remaining Objects Adding the Remaining Objects To complete this first page, you must add a box object and three text objects. 1 Enter Ctrl+B to add a box object to the page. The object appears at the center of the page and PowerScript displays its bounding rectangle and object handles. 2 Click and drag the box object’s resize handle to make the box about one-half the height of the bull’s-eye target, and about three-quarters the width of the page (or, screen). 3 Drag the box object upward toward the top of the screen so that its bottom is slightly above the bottom of the largest oval object in the bull’s-eye target. This step ensures that when you use the Align option in a later step the two objects align at the lowest point of the large oval object. Compare your page to the one shown at the left. 4 Hold down the Shift key and select the largest of the bull’s-eye target oval objects. Holding down the Shift key lets you select more than one object at a time (this is called Shift-Clicking). Both the box object and the largest oval object should be selected. Make sure you selected the largest oval object and not one of the smaller ones. 5 Enter Ctrl+Shift+B to align the large oval object and the new box object at their bottoms. 6 Shift-click the large oval object to deselect it. This leaves only the box object selected. Shift-clicking can be used to deselect objects as well as select them. 7 Set the fill color for the box object to the same attributes as the large oval object— Hue=100, Saturation=100, Brightness=70, and Opacity=100. 8 Enter Ctrl+Shift+F. This executes the Send to Back option (found in the SELECT menu) and moves the box object “behind” all of the objects that comprise the bull’s-eye target. Every object you place on a page occupies a separate layer. The first object occupies the first (or, back-most) layer. All subsequent objects occupy layers on top of or in front of the previous layer or layers. Therefore, an object on one layer might cover all or part of an object on a previous layer. You’ve used this feature to cause the box object to appear as though it is part of the bull’s-eye target because all of the objects comprising the bull’s-eye are in front of the box object. Once again, compare your page to the one shown at the left. 9 Enter Ctrl+T to add a new text object to the page. The new object appears at the center of the page and because it does not yet contain any characters, it is extremely narrow. The object handles, however, let you know the object is there. 10 Type “SIGHTnSOUND”. As you type, the text object expands and the individual characters appear. If you make a mistake while typing, press the Backspace key to erase as many characters as necessary, then continue typing. 11 Place the mouse pointer to the left of the first capital letter “S” in the text object, then drag to the right all the way to the end of the text string. Note that what we are doing here is selecting the text characters within the text object. SIGHTnSOUND Click here (If you don’t understand the term “drag,” read Appendix B, Using the PowerScript Mouse and Keyboard.) Drag to here and release You have selected all characters in the text object. Selecting individual text characters works a little differently from selecting a complete object. It gives you the ability to apply attributes to one or more characters that comprise a complete text string. You could have, for example, 37 Chapter 3 PowerScript Tutorial selected only the word SIGHT in the text object by stopping at the end of the capital letter “T”. For this exercise you’re going to make changes to all of the characters, so you need to select the entire text string. As you drag, PowerScript highlights each character to indicate it is selected. The highlighting might be difficult to detect, but if you look closely you can tell that all of the letters have been selected. Tip To easily select all characters in a text object, enter Ctrl+A. 12 Enter Ctrl+Shift+F1 to display the FONTS menu, then… FONTS A: Bookwoman-DemiItalSH R Bookwoman-DemiSH A: Bookwoman-LightItalSH A: Bookwoman-LightSH R Courier-BoldObliqueSH R Courier-BoldSH R Courier-ObliqueSH R Courier-SH R Forefront-BookObliqueSH R Forefront-BookSH R Forefront-DemiObliqueSH Locate the Bookwoman-DemiSH font in the list and click the font name to select it. Bookwoman-DemiSH COPY DELETE When you select a font name in the FONTS menu, PowerScript immediately changes the selected text characters to that font. This instant feedback helps you locate the desired font. 13 Close the FONTS menu. 14 Enter Ctrl+F3 to display the FILL menu. 15 Set the fill color for the text characters to white (Hue=0, Saturation=0, Brightness=100, Opacity=100), then close the FILL menu. 16 Enter Ctrl+F1 to display the TEXT menu. TEXT Bookwoman-DemiSH Character Size 50 Line Spacing 0 Character Spacing WORD WRAP Left Center Right 0 Justification A 17 Enter “50” in the Character Size text box. Set Line Spacing and Character Spacing to 0 (zero) if they aren’t already set to that value. Select the Center Justification option. 18 Close the TEXT menu. 19 Enter Ctrl+F2 to display the SHADOW menu and create a drop shadow for the text. Shadow On/Off SHADOW 4 100 38 Shadow Displacement 4 % Shadow Opacity Videonics PowerScript Adding the Remaining Objects 20 Use the two text boxes to set Shadow Displacement to 4. Set Shadow Opacity to 100. Select the Shadow On/Off option to display the shadow. Close the SHADOW menu. You need to create two more text objects to complete the Opening page. Use what you’ve learned up to this point to create the two text objects (Ctrl+T). Assign the following attributes to these objects: Attribute Attribute Values Menu Font Style Heavenetica TEXT (Ctrl+F1) Font Size 25 TEXT (Ctrl+F1) Justification Center TEXT (Ctrl+F1) Fill Color White: Hue=0 Saturation=0 Brightness=100 Opacity=100 FILL (Ctrl+F3) Drop Shadow Displacement=2 pixels Opacity=100 SHADOW (Ctrl+F2) Use the object handles to position the two objects approximately as shown here. Tip A SIGHTnSOUND For quick, easy alignment, select all three text objects, then enter Ctrl+Alt+C to align them at their horizontal centers. Presentation Congratulations! You’ve just created your first PowerScript page. If it doesn’t look exactly like the one shown above, don’t worry too much about it. However, you should have been able to create all of the object attribute settings—including fill colors, shadows, fonts, layer positioning, and so forth. If you had any trouble with these concepts, re-trace your steps against the instructions so that you are sure you understand how to create and modify objects. 39 Chapter 3 PowerScript Tutorial LESSON 3 CREATING A BACKGROUND, SAVING A PAGE, AND PLAYING A PAGE When you want the objects on a page to play against a solid background, you need to specify the background color and activate the background option. 1 Enter Ctrl+F9 to display the BACKGROUND menu. Background On/Off BACKGROUND 2 HUE 30 SATURATION 50 BRIGHTNESS 25 Select the Background On/Off option. When you select the Background On/Off option, the page appears with a solid color background during playback. When you deselect the option, the background is omitted and the page can play over an incoming video signal, if present. You’ll learn more about this when you create and roll the Credits page in a later lesson. 3 Set the following values for the background fill color: Hue=30, Saturation=50, Brightness=50. These values produce a medium blue background. 4 Close the BACKGROUND menu. Normally, the background appears only when you play the page, so you won’t see it when you close the menu. However, if you’ve configured PowerScript to operate in Single-Monitor mode, the background does appear. 5 Enter Ctrl+F12 to display the PROJECT/PAGES menu. 6 Click the Save button near the lower-right corner of the menu (or enter Ctrl+S), then close the PROJECT/PAGES menu. PowerScript continually and automatically saves your work as you go. So, although it isn’t absolutely necessary, get in the habit of saving pages periodically. Playing the Page 1 Locate the Scroll Lock key on the keyboard and press it once. To the right of the Scroll Lock key is an LED indicator that now glows green. This means Scroll Lock is engaged. If the LED is not lit, press Scroll Lock again to engage it. Scroll Lock When the Scroll Lock LED is lit, PowerScript is in Play Mode—ready to play pages. When the LED is not lit, PowerScript is in Edit Mode—ready to create and modify pages. 2 Press the Numeric Enter key. There is a momentary delay while PowerScript prepares the page for playback. The page then appears on the screen and remains there until you specifically remove it. Enter 3 Press Scroll Lock to disengage Play Mode. 4 Press either Enter key to return to Edit Mode and display the page. If you press Esc (rather than the Enter key), PowerScript removes the page from the screen and returns you to Edit Mode. The difference here is that after pressing Esc, the screen is empty. 40 Videonics PowerScript Lesson 4 Adding the Title Page LESSON 4 ADDING THE TITLE PAGE You can now create the second page in the production—the Title page. The main difference between the Opening and Title pages is that the latter contains a couple of EPS graphic files—the cloud and the umbrella. The instructions in this lesson explain how to create a new page and add the EPS graphics and the geometric object (the red cross). You should be able to create the text objects on your own using the skills acquired in the preceding lessons. Gimme Shelter The Story of the American Red Cross Creating the Title Page 1 Display the PROJECT/PAGES menu (Ctrl+F12). Note that TUTORIAL is the selected project, and Opening is the selected page. PROJECT/ PAGE PROJECTS PAGES COMMENT COMMENT SnS Opening A: A: A: A: 1. Opening AUTOAPS AUTOEPS DEMO TUTORIAL This button inserts a new blank page at the end of the page list. CHANGE PG. # CUT NEW 1 2 COPY RENUMBERALL DELETE PASTE COPY AUTO-SAVE XYZZY RENAME DELETE NEW: ABOVE NEW: BELOW NEW: END SAVE 2 Click the New:End button (or enter Ctrl+N) to create a new, blank page at the end of the project. The new page appears below the Opening page. It is automatically assigned the page number 1.1. (You’ll learn more about page numbering later in this tutorial.) 3 Click in the Comment text box above the pages list, type “Title”, then click in any open area of the menu. 4 Close the PROJECTS/PAGES menu. 41 Chapter 3 PowerScript Tutorial Adding Graphic Objects to the Page PowerScript comes with an assortment of graphic files you can use in any project. They are stored on the PowerScript Start Card. 1 Enter Ctrl+E to display the GRAPHICS menu, then… GRAPHICS A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: ARROW4.EPS ARROW5.EPS ARROW6.EPS ARROW7.EPS BOX1.APS BOX2.APS BOXX3.EPS CC.EPS CCSYMBOL.EPS CHECK1.EPS CIRCLE2.APS CIRCLE3.APS CIRCLE4.APS CLOUDGRY.EPS CLOUDWT.EPS FLARE.EIPS Locate the CLOUDWT.EPS file in the list and click the name to select that file. Place Graphic button COPY XYZZY RENAME DELETE 2 Select the CLOUDWT.EPS file and click the Place Graphic button. The graphic object appears at the center of the page, just like any other object. 3 Scroll down toward the bottom of the list, locate the UMBRELLA.EPS file, select the file, then click Place Graphic again to place that object on the page. 4 Close the GRAPHICS menu. 5 With only the UMBRELLA.EPS object selected, enter Ctrl+F7 to display the MODIFY menu, then… MODIFY a a Select Object Visibility option—this option must be selected in order for the object to appear on the page. 135 % Enter 135 in the Uniform Scale text box to increase the size of the umbrella. a a a a 42 Enter 60 in the Rotate text box to rotate the umbrella 60˚ in a clockwise direction. 60 % (If you wanted to rotate the object in a counter-clockwise direction, you would enter a negative value, such as -60.) Videonics PowerScript Adding Graphic Objects to the Page 6 Leave the MODIFY menu open, deselect the umbrella object, then select the cloud object. Enter the values shown below in the MODIFY menu to change the size of the cloud. MODIFY Select Object Visibility option a 100 a 275 a 160 a a a % Enter 275 in the Horizontal Scale text box and 160 in the Vertical Scale text box. 0 0 % 7 Arrange the umbrella and cloud objects similar to the page shown at the left. Then you’re ready to create the Red Cross logo. 8 Enter Ctrl+B to create a box object. 9 Display the FILL menu and set the object attributes to: Hue=100, Saturation=100, Brightness=75, and Opacity=100. Close the FILL menu when finished. Note The scaling values mentioned in the following steps might not be correct for your particular television monitor, depending on resolution. Basically, the objective is to create two objects of equal proportions to form a red cross. You might need to substitute different scaling values to create a red cross of the size and scale you need. 10 In the MODIFY menu, set the object’s Horizontal Scale to 50 and its Vertical Scale to 25. 11 With the box object still selected, enter Ctrl+C to copy it to the clipboard. 12 Deselect the box object and enter Ctrl+V to paste a copy of the object on the page. 13 With the object copy selected, go to the MODIFY menu and enter a rotation value of 90 in the Rotate text box. Close the MODIFY menu when finished. 14 Position the mouse pointer in an open area of the page, slightly above and to the left of the two box objects. Then drag down and to the right—as you drag, notice the rectangle formed by the mouse movement. 15 When the rectangle encloses or touches both objects, release the mouse button. Dragging to select objects This illustrates another way of selecting multiple objects (in addition to the Shift-Click method discussed earlier). When you use this method, PowerScript selects any object the rectangle touches as you drag. If you select more objects than you want, you can re-drag the rectangle, or Shift-click those objects you do not want in the selection to deselect them. 16 Enter Ctrl+Alt+C, then enter Ctrl+Alt+M. This aligns both objects at their horizontal and vertical centers. If the two objects do not appear to be aligned correctly, select one or the other of the objects, then press the arrow keys to nudge the object left, right, up, or down in increments of onepixel (which is one video scan line). 17 When you’re satisfied that the objects form a good Red Cross, move them down to the lower-right part of the page. 18 Enter Ctrl+F9 to display the BACKGROUND menu and set the background to the same as that for the Title page—Hue=30, Saturation=50, Brightness=50. Select the Background Attribute Option, then close the BACKGROUND menu. 19 Create a new Text object and enter “Gimme Shelter.” 43 Chapter 3 PowerScript Tutorial 20 Select the text string you just entered (Gimme Shelter) and assign it the VAG RoundedBlack font with a white fill color and a small drop shadow. 21 Deselect the text in the Text object, then click to object to select it (object handles should appear on the four corners of the object’s bounding rectangle). 22 Display the TEXT menu (Ctrl+F1), select the Word Wrap option, then close the menu. TEXT Bookwoman-DemiSH 50 WORD WRAP Word Wrap option 0 0 A 23 Look at the Text object and note that a Word Wrap handle appears on the right side of the bounding rectangle. Drag the handle to the left and a vertical bar appears. When the bar is located atop the “h” in the word Shelter, release the mouse button. Gimme Shelter The Word Wrap handle appears when you activate the Word Wrap option. Gimme Shelter When you drag the Word Wrap handle, a vertical bar appears to track your position in the Text object. Gimme Release the mouse button and PowerScript resizes the Text object and makes all words fit within the new size you specified by dragging and releasing the Word Wrap handle. Shelter 24 Now, work on your own for a few minutes and create the Text object for the subtitle, “The Story of the American Red Cross.” You can use the Word Wrap feature to make the subtitle appear on two separate lines, or press the Alpha Enter key while typing the text to force a line break wherever you want it to occur. Use your creativity and experiment with some of the other options to learn what they do and how to use them. When you’re ready to move on to the next lesson, save your page (Ctrl+S) when you finish working on it. 44 Videonics PowerScript Lesson 5 Adding the Credits Page LESSON 5 ADDING THE CREDITS PAGE The Credits page is fairly simple because it contains only one object—a text object listing the job titles and names of those individuals who participated in the video production. However, the text object uses a variety of font styles, sizes, and line spacing to achieve the desired effect. Production Design ..... Videographer ..... Written by ..... Editor ..... ChristopherKIRK The text object for the Credits page actually contains more job descriptions and names than shown here. The text object extends beyond the bottom of the screen. This allows you to roll the credits up the page. You’ll learn how to do this in a later lesson. JamieSTUART ErnestHEMING JackPARIS, A.C.E. Lighting ..... StevenSPINBURG Executive Producer ..... FrancisCOPRA Creating the Credits Page 1 Display the PROJECT/PAGES menu (Ctrl+F12). PROJECT/ PAGE PROJECTS PAGES COMMENT COMMENT SnS Opening A: A: A: A: 1. Opening AUTOAPS AUTOEPS DEMO TUTORIAL CHANGE PG. # CUT NEW 1 2 COPY RENUMBERALL DELETE PASTE COPY AUTO-SAVE XYZZY RENAME DELETE NEW: ABOVE NEW: BELOW NEW: END SAVE 2 Click the New:End button to add a new page at the end of the project. 3 Enter the name “Credits” in the Comment text box to name this page then close the menu. 4 Enter Ctrl+T to add a text object to the page. 5 Type the credit information into the text object as follows (as indicated, press Return at the end of each line, except the last one): Production Design … ChristopherKIRK Videographer … JamieSTUART Written by … ErnestHEMING Editor … JackPARIS, A.C.E Lighting … SteveSPINBURG Executive Producer … FrancisCOPRA Produced by … MojoROSENTHAL Directed by … KellieTHURGOOD 6 Select all of the text in the text object. 45 Chapter 3 PowerScript Tutorial In an earlier lesson, you learned how to select all text in a text object by dragging across all of the characters. An easier way to do this is to enter Ctrl+A (the Select All option). 7 Display the TEXT menu (Ctrl+F1). TEXT Bookwoman-DemiSH Font Size 25 Line Spacing 35 Justification Left 0 8 WORD WRAP A Set the Font Size=25, Justification=Left, and Line Spacing=35. When you set the Line Spacing to such a high value, several of the lines in the text object disappear from the page. The text is still there, it has just been pushed below the bottom of the screen. 9 Enter Ctrl+Shift+G to engage the PowerScript Hot Borders feature. Hot Borders allow you to access parts of the page that extend beyond the edges of the screen. In this particular case, it gives you a way to access those lines of text that just disappeared from the screen. Production Design … ChristorKIRK Videographer … JamieSTUART Written by … ErnestHEMING Editor … JackPARIS, A.C.E Lighting … SteveSPINBURG PowerScript pages can be larger than the screen on which they appear. When a page is larger than the screen, use Hot Borders to access the parts of the page that lie beyond the screen edges. Hot Borders is a toggle-type feature—you can alternately turn it off and on by entering its assigned control key—Ctrl+Shift+G. Executive Producer … FrancisCOPRA Produced by … MojoROSENTHAL Directed by … KellieTHURGOOD 10 Drag the mouse pointer down to the bottom edge of the screen, then continue dragging. If necessary, pick the mouse up, move it forward, place it back on its surface, then continue dragging. As you drag beyond the screen edges, the area of the page below the screen’s bottom edge scrolls into view. Continue this dragging action until those lines of text that previously disappeared come back onto the screen. The top lines in the object move off the top of the screen. Dragging around the screen when Hot Borders is engaged can get you disoriented. To reposition the screen to its center, enter Alt+Home. 11 Drag across the first job title (Production Design) in the text object to select it. 12 Display the FONTS menu (Ctrl+Shift+F1) and change the font to Heavenetica-BoldSH. 13 Display the TEXT menu (Ctrl+F1) and set the Font Size to 15. If this were an actual production job, you would probably select all of the other job titles (one-by-one) and assign them the same attributes that you just assigned to the Production Design job title. It’s a fair amount of work, but the results are often worth the effort. Whether or not you choose to make those changes as part of this tutorial is up to you. In addition, you might want to select each person’s last name in the text object and set the font style to bold to create better separation between first and last name. Again, it’s a design decision that is entirely up to you. 14 Return to the PROJECT/PAGES menu and save this page. 46 Videonics PowerScript Playing Back the Pages Playing Back the Pages You’ve created all pages for the project. You can now playback the pages to see how they look, and give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done. To playback the pages: 1 On the keypad, press the 1 key, then press Numeric Enter. This is a simple way to navigate between pages in a project. In this case, typing 1 tells PowerScript that you want to return to the first page—pressing Enter instructs PowerScript to execute the command. 2 Press the Scroll Lock key to engage Play Mode. The Scroll Lock LED should be lit. 3 Press the Numeric Enter key. There is a momentary delay, then the Opening page appears on screen, with its designated background color. 4 When you are ready to go on to the Title page, press the Numeric Plus (+) key, then press Numeric Enter again. It is necessary to press Enter to go to the next page because (by default) each new page you create is set for infinite duration—which means it remains on-screen for an infinite amount of time. Later, you’ll learn how to set a different page duration to control the length of time a page remains on-screen before giving way to the next page. 5 Press the Numeric Plus (+) key then Numeric Enter one more time to display the last page—the Credits page. 6 When you’re finished playing the pages, press Scroll Lock, then press Alpha Enter. LESSON 6 MANAGING PROJECTS You spent a fair amount of time in the preceding lessons creating the pages for a project. In the next series of lessons you make significant modifications to those pages. As you learned earlier, PowerScript saves your work as you go. This is a safeguard to protect your work, but it can also be a detriment if you don’t take the necessary, simple precautions, as explained below. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: When you plan to make extensive changes to an existing project, you should first create a copy of that project and make the changes to the duplicate. This way, if you happen to make changes with which you aren’t happy, you can easily go back to the original project, duplicate it again, and start over. If after making the modifications you are satisfied with them, delete the original project and, if desired, rename the duplicate project to the same name as the original one. Similarly, if you are going to make changes to a single page in a project, you can make a duplicate of that page, make the changes, then discard the original page. The key point here is always back up your work before making extensive changes. 47 Chapter 3 PowerScript Tutorial To make a copy of the original project: 1 Display the PROJECT/PAGES menu (Ctrl+F12) and select the project you want to copy (TUTORIAL) in the Projects list. PROJECT/ PAGE PROJECTS PAGES COMMENT COMMENT SnS Opening A: A: A: A: 1. Opening 1.1 Title 1.2 Credits AUTOAPS AUTOEPS DEMO TUTORIAL See “Renumbering Pages”below CHANGE PG. # 1 CUT NEW 1 2 COPY RENUMBERALL DELETE PASTE COPY AUTO-SAVE XYZZY RENAME DELETE NEW: ABOVE NEW: BELOW NEW: END SAVE 2 Click the Copy button just below the Projects list. The COPY PROJECT menu appears. (This menu is just like the one you see when creating a new project.) 3 Indicate which PC card (FRONT or BACK) you want to use to store the project; enter a name for the project copy; optionally, enter a Comment; then click the Copy button. PowerScript creates the copy and its name appears in the Projects list. Select the project name in the list and note that it contains the same pages with the same names and numbers as the originals. Renumbering Pages Recall from an earlier lesson that you learned how to navigate to other pages in a project by entering their numbers on the keypad and pressing the Enter key. In the PROJECT/PAGES menu (above), the pages are currently numbered 1, 1.1, and 1.2. Just to make navigation a little easier, you can renumber the pages so that they have whole integers. To renumber the pages in a project: ¨ Make sure the project whose pages you want to renumber is selected in the Projects list, then click the Renumber All button. PowerScript renumbers the pages 1, 2, and 3. 48 Videonics PowerScript Lesson 7 Rolling the Credits Page LESSON 7 ROLLING THE CREDITS PAGE This lesson shows how to perform a roll transition to scroll the text object on the Credits page from the bottom to the top of the screen. Recall that the Credits page contains one text object that extends off the bottom edge of the screen. Furthermore, unless you changed it, the Credits page does not have a background—that is, the Background On/Off option in the BACKGROUND menu is deselected. Here’s why: It’s a fairly common practice to roll the credits at the end of the production. It is also common practice to roll the credits over the closing, live-video scenes. If you connect a video source (such as a VTR) to PowerScript’s VIDEO IN connector, the video signal plays behind the rolling credits as long as the page does not have a background. We won’t cover this procedure in this tutorial, but it is discussed in other chapters. 1 Display the PROJECT/PAGES menu (Ctrl+F12), select the project copy you just made in the Projects list, then select the Credits page in the Pages list. PROJECT/ PAGE PROJECTS PAGES COMMENT COMMENT SnS Opening A: A: A: A: A: 1. Opening 1.1 Title 1.2 Credits AUTOAPS AUTOEPS DEMO TUTORIAL TUTORIAL copy CHANGE PG. # CUT NEW RENUMBERALL 1 2 COPY DELETE PASTE COPY AUTO-SAVE XYZZY RENAME DELETE NEW: ABOVE 2 NEW: BELOW SAVE NEW: END Press Esc to close the PROJECT/PAGES menu. Pressing Esc instructs PowerScript to close the top-most menu on the screen. Entering Shift+Esc closes all open menus. Creating a Roll Transition 1 Enter Ctrl+F10 to display the TRANSITIONS menu. TRANSITIONS 4 + SECS 0 FRAMES 6 + SECS SET TRANSN 15 AUTO-SAVE FRAMES SAVE A 0 0 SEC + FR. C B START STOP SPEED: PLAY 10 DURATION: TARGET (SEC.) 12 Roll and Crawl Options ACTUAL 10 2 Set the Roll and Crawl options as shown above—Roll Up, Start Middle of Page, End Top of Page, Speed 10. 3 Close the TRANSITIONS menu. 49 Chapter 3 PowerScript Tutorial 4 Press the Scroll Lock key to engage Play Mode, then press the Numeric Enter key. There is a slight delay while PowerScript prepares the page and transition. After a moment or two the Credits text object begins rolling up from the bottom of the screen. When the Credits page finishes playing, PowerScript automatically loops back to the beginning of the project and begins to display the first page (the Opening page). When this occurs, press Scroll Lock to disengage Play Mode, then press Alpha Enter to engage Edit Mode. (To stop the project following a credit roll, insert a blank page following the credits page and set it to infinite duration. You’ll learn more about page duration in the next lesson.) 5 On the keypad, press 3, then Numeric Enter to display the Credits page. 6 When you’re satisfied with the way the page plays, display the PROJECT/PAGES menu and save the page. LESSON 8 SETTING PAGE DURATION AND TRANSITIONS FOR THE OPENING PAGE 1 On the keypad, press 1, then press Numeric Enter to display the Opening page, ready for editing. 2 Display the TRANSITIONS menu (Ctrl+F10). TRANSITIONS 2 + SECS 0 FRAMES 2 + SET TRANSN SECS 0 AUTO-SAVE Transition IN and Transition OUT FRAMES SAVE A 5 0 SEC + FR. B START STOP C SPEED: PLAY 10 DURATION: TARGET (SEC.) 12 ACTUAL 10 Page Duration 3 Select the Page Duration option, set the Seconds text box value to 5, and set the Frames text box value to zero. By selecting the Page Duration option and entering a value, you are telling PowerScript to display this page for a specific period of time—5 seconds. 4 In the Transition IN and Transition OUT text boxes, enter 2 for the Seconds values, and enter zero for the Frames values. These values specify how long the transition plays when the page enters the screen (Transition IN) and when it exits the screen (Transition OUT). Transition IN + Page Duration + Transition OUT determines how long the page occupies the screen. In this case, that is 9 seconds (2+5+2=9). 50 Videonics PowerScript Lesson 8 Setting Page Duration and Transitions for the Opening Page 5 Click the Set Transitions button at the bottom of the menu to display the TRANSISTION EFFECTS menu, or enter Ctrl+Shift+F10. This menu gives you access to the more interesting and creative transitions available with PowerScript. TRANSITION EFFECTS A B 2 0 2 0 SECONDS + FRAMES B CUT B B FADE B SELECT WIPE SELECT SLIDE SELECT PATH PLAY C SAVE SELECT B This menu (like the TRANSITIONS menu above) has Transition IN and Transition OUT text boxes. These are merely duplicates of one another. If you change the value or values in one menu, they also change automatically in the other menu. SELECT AUTO-SAVE Use the column on the left to specify a Transition IN effect. Use the right column for the Transition OUT effect. The two columns are identical with the exception of the Path option for Transition IN effects. 6 Select the Path option in the left-hand column, then click the Select button to its immediate left. The PATH menu appears showing the available path options. 7 Select the smooth bouncing path option (shown at left) then close the path menu. 8 Select the Fade option in the right-hand column (for the Transition OUT). 9 Set the Seconds and Frames text boxes to 2 and zero, respectively, for both the Transition IN and Transition OUT durations. 10 Enter Shift+Esc to close all open menus. You have specified how long the page is to remain on the screen while playing (5 seconds), specified a Transition IN and its duration (a smooth bouncing path for 2 seconds), and specified a Transition OUT and its duration (a fade occurring over a two second period). 51 Chapter 3 PowerScript Tutorial LESSON 9 SETTING A TARGET DURATION FOR THE TITLE PAGE In this lesson you do essentially the same steps for the Title page that you did for the Opening page in the preceding lesson, but use some different options for controlling page duration and crawling the page across the screen. For this exercise, assume you have 8 seconds in which to play the Title Page. 1 On the keypad, press 2 (the number assigned to the Title page), then press Numeric Enter to display the Title page. 2 Enter Ctrl+F10 to display the TRANSITIONS menu. You’ll work with the Roll and Crawl options to crawl the page from right-to-left. You want to start the crawl from off the screen, and stop the crawl when the page is centered on-screen. Select this option to crawl the page from right-to-left START STOP SPEED: 5 DURATION: TARGET 8 (SEC.) ACTUAL 10 Options button Select these options to start the crawl from off-screen, and stop the crawl when the page is centered on the screen. 3 As stated above, you have only 8 seconds in which to play this page. So, enter 8 in the Target text field, adjacent to the Duration (Sec) label. This tells PowerScript that you want to attempt to have this page play within the allowed amount of time (8 seconds). 4 Click the Options button to display the ROLL & CRAWL OPTIONS menu. ROLL/CRAWL OPTIONS NEXT NEXT NEXT NEXT HIGHER OPTIMUM SPEED LOWER OPTIMUM SPEED HIGHER ACCEPTABLE SPEED LOWER ACCEPTABLE SPEED Depending on the video scan rate available for your equipment, PowerScript might or might not be able to precisely meet your stated Target Duration of, in this case, 8 seconds. The ROLL & CRAWL OPTIONS menu lets you select from four different algorithms (or, calculation methods) that PowerScript can use to try and meet your target. 5 Select the Next Higher Optimum Speed option. When you return to the TRANSITIONS menu, note the value that PowerScript places in the Actual text box. The example shown earlier in this section indicates an Actual value of 10 seconds. This is the duration that PowerScript has calculated that it can crawl this page based on your selection in the ROLL & CRAWL OPTIONS menu and the video scan rate available for your equipment. (The value you see displayed for Actual might be different from what is shown in the example.) If the Actual value meets your stated Target value, then you don’t need to do anything else. However, for this exercise assume you aren’t satisfied with the Actual value that PowerScript calculated and you want to try some other options. 6 52 Click the Options button again to re-display the ROLL & CRAWL OPTIONS menu. Videonics PowerScript Lesson 10 Playing Back the Project Pages with Transitions 7 Select one of the other options—such as Next Lower Optimum Speed—then close the menu. When you return to the TRANSITIONS menu this time, you should see a different value in the Actual text box. This is because PowerScript uses a different algorithm to derive the new value. 8 Repeat the two preceding steps two more times and select, in turn, the other options in the ROLL & CRAWL OPTIONS menu—that is, Next Higher Acceptable Speed and Next Lower Acceptable Speed. Once again, each time you return to the TRANSITIONS menu, note that the Actual value is most likely different in each case. The difference between Optimum and Acceptable speeds is important. Optimum speeds normally produce smooth motion, but might not be able to meet your target as closely as you require. Acceptable speeds might result in choppy or jerky motion, but are more likely to meet your required target speed. So, you have to make the choice between the two categories based on your needs. The only way to do this effectively is try all of the options and play the page to see what results you are able to attain. There are a few other adjustments you can make to try and meet your target duration if necessary. See “Using Roll and Crawl”beginning on page 99 for additional information. 9 Once you’re satisfied with the Actual duration that PowerScript calculates for the Title page, close the TRANSITIONS menu and go on to the next lesson. Note When using the Roll & Crawl options, you can set either the transition Speed or transition Duration. Whichever one you set last takes precedence. That is, if you set the transition Speed using that option then close the TRANSITIONS menu, PowerScript uses your speed setting—conversely, if you set a transition Duration then close the menu, PowerScript uses your duration settings. LESSON 10 PLAYING BACK THE PROJECT PAGES WITH TRANSITIONS Now check out the work done so far. Playback all pages in the project to see the effects of the page durations and transitions. 1 On the keypad, press 1 (the number assigned to the Opening page), then press Numeric Enter to display the Opening page. 2 Press the Scroll Lock key to engage Play Mode. The Scroll Lock LED indicator on the keyboard should be lit. 3 Press Numeric Enter again. Sit back and watch PowerScript play the three pages in sequence—complete with assigned page durations and transitions. After playing the last page in the project (the Credits page), PowerScript automatically loops back to the beginning and starts playing the pages again. To stop the playback: 1 Press the Scroll Lock key to disengage Play Mode. 2 Press the Alpha Enter key to stop playback. The page that was playing appears on the screen and you are operating in Edit Mode. 53 Chapter 3 PowerScript Tutorial SUMMARY This completes the tutorial lessons. You’ve learned much of what you need to know to create professional, sophisticated title pages with PowerScript. However, we’ve touched on just a few of the many PowerScript features in this tutorial. Refer to the remaining chapters and appendixes of the manual to learn more. To play the entire tutorial project from beginning to end: 1 Press the Scroll Lock key to disengage Play Mode. 2 On the keypad, press 1, then press Numeric Enter to go back to the Opening page. 3 Press the Scroll Lock key again to engage Play Mode. 4 Press Numeric Enter. When you’re finished watching the tutorial run, press the Scroll Lock key, then press Alpha Enter. You might want to delete one or both of the Tutorials from your PowerScript Start Card. Although the Tutorials are not very large, they do take up space that you might want to use for other projects. The Start Card has a limited amount of space available. So, unless you have other PC cards available, you should remove at least one of the Tutorials. To delete a project: 54 1 Display the PROJECT/PAGES menu (Ctrl+F12). 2 Select the project you want to delete in the Projects list. 3 Click the Delete button below the Projects list. 4 Repeat the two preceding steps to delete the other copy of the Tutorial project, if that is what you want to do. 4 Working with Menus The PowerScript menus give you access to all PowerScript functions. Learning to work with the menus properly helps you work with PowerScript easily and efficiently. This chapter does not contain descriptions of the menus. For those descriptions, see the other chapters that follow, or see Chapter 9, PowerScript Reference. PowerScript provides two sets of menus, Standard Menus and Power Menus. You’ll read more about them in the next section. For basic access to the menus, use the following methods. Chapter 4 Working with Menus Table 3: Menu Access Keys Action Method Toggle all menus on and off Right-Click Display Main Menu Ctrl+Right-Click Display Power Menus Shift+Right-Click Display Main Menu and Power Menus Ctrl+Shift+Right-Click Close all Standard menus, leave Power menus on screen Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Esc STANDARD AND POWER MENUS PowerScript provides two separate sets of menus—Standard menus and Power menus. The Power menus are smaller, revised versions of the Standard menus. They occupy less real estate on the screen than the Standard menus. This gives you more space in which to create pages while providing quick and easy access to the menus and most of their options. Standard and Power Menus Standard Menus Power Menus 100 a 220 a GRAPHICS A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: ARROW1.EPS ARROW2.EPS ARROW3.EPS ARROW4.EPS ARROW5.EPS ARROW6.EPS ARROW7.EPS BOX1.APS BOX2.APS BOXX3.EPS CC.EPS CCSYMBOL.EPS CHECK1.EPS CIRCLE2.APS CIRCLE3.APS CIRCLE4.APS % 50 a 0 a CREATE Holstein 50 MODIFY aa CLIP 0 % TEXT SHADOW FILL OUTLINE SETUP BKGD 10 10 ON HELP 100 COPY SELECT MODIFY ALIGN XYZZY RENAME BKGND TRANS ANIMATE PROJ/PG POWER MENUS FILL ON DELETE H Standard menus occupy a fair amount of screen space. They reduce the amount of space available for creating and editing pages. They are self-explanatory and give you access to all menu options. S 100 B 100 O 100 0 LINE ON H 50 S 100 B 50 O 100 1 Power menus occupy less screen space, giving you more space on-screen for creating and editing pages. Some Power menus do not contain all of the options available in the Standard menus, and most of the identifying labels in the Power menus have been abbreviated or omitted. Using Power Menus The illustration on the opposite page shows the available Power menus. Tip If you are using a standard television set as your Preview monitor, you will probably want to use the Standard menus because the Power menus might be too difficult to see. You can place Power menus anywhere on the screen. Normally, you place them outside the Safe Title Area (which is a part of the screen you normally don’t use). See “Working with the Safe Title Area” on page 115 for more information. Most Power menus contain this button. Click the button to display the Standard version of the Power menu. 56 Videonics PowerScript Using Power Menus Power Menus Align Background Shadow Main Main On/Off MAIN MENU BKGD 10 ON 10 100 Create Text Holstein 50 Fill FILL S 100 B 100 O 100 ON H 0 Line LINE ON S 100 B 50 O 100 H 50 1 You can display both the Standard and Power menus on-screen at the same time, although doing so unnecessarily consumes screen space. To display the Power menus: ¨ Enter Shift+Right-click, or click the Power Menus button in the MAIN MENU. SETUP Power Menus Button HELP POWER MENUS When you use the control keys to display a menu (such as Ctrl+F1), PowerScript always displays the Standard menu, not the Power menu. 57 Chapter 4 Working with Menus WORKING WITH MENUS AND MENU CONTROLS Most PowerScript menus contain one or more of the controls shown below. PowerScript Menu Controls List Button Text Box and Slider Control Radio Buttons Heavenetica Slider Buttons 24 Deselected Menu Close Box Selected Check Boxes TEXT GoodDogPlain 50 WORD WRAP 0 0 The TEXT menu uses all of the menu controls described above. A List Button—Click the arrowhead to display a list of items from which to choose. Text Box and Slider Control—The two controls work together. Enter a value in the text box and the slider moves accordingly: drag the slider and the value in the text box changes accordingly. To enter a value in a text box, click inside the box. The current value goes away and the text cursor appears inside the text box. Enter the value you want to assign by typing it on the keyboard. If the Num Lock key is engaged, press Numeric Enter, or click anywhere outside the text box to apply the value to the selected object or objects. Slider Buttons—Slider controls have a small button at each end. Clicking the button moves the slider one unit to the left or right, depending on which is clicked. Radio Buttons—Similar to the buttons on older car radios. Click (or, push) one button and all of the others automatically turn off (or become deselected). A set of radio buttons always contains two or more buttons. Check Boxes—Click to place an X in a check box to turn the option On—that is, to select the option. Click again to turn the option Off—that is, to deselect the option. You can select and deselect check boxes in any combination. 58 Videonics PowerScript Sliders and Text Values Some menus (such as FILL) contain an On/Off check box located just to the right of the Menu Close Box. Select the check box to turn the menu options On—that is, to display them on the screen. Deselect the check box to turn the menu options Off— that is, to suppress their display. On/Off check box FILL HUE 33 Menu Close Box—Appears in the upper left corner of all PowerScript menus. Click the close box to remove the menu from the screen. Sliders and Text Values The FILL, OUTLINE, and BACKGROUND menus contain sliders and text boxes for setting hue, saturation, and brightness. FILL and OUTLINE also contain controls for opacity. Text boxes provide a convenient way to ensure that colors match from one page or object to another. Hue Hue values range from zero to 100. Numbers specify relative colors on the color wheel, as shown here: 0 & 100=Red 82=Yellow 12=Magenta 61=Green 32=Blue Hue values specify colors on the color wheel. For example, the hue value 22 results in a hue midway between magenta and blue: the hue value 41 produces a color midway between blue and cyan: and so forth. 50=Cyan Saturation A Saturation value of zero results in no color saturation—producing black, white, or shades of gray. A value of 100 produces full-strength color—such as scarlet red or bright green. Brightness A Brightness value of zero produces black. A value of 100 produces the brightest possible color at whatever saturation level you specify. Tip To produce black, set Brightness to zero—Hue and Saturation are irrelevant in this case. To produce white, set Saturation to zero and Brightness to 100. To produce gray, set Saturation to zero, Brightness to whatever level of gray you desire—for example, a Brightness value of 50 produces a medium gray. 59 Chapter 4 Working with Menus Opacity The Opacity value (sometimes referred to as transparency) ranges from zero (no opacity: therefore transparent and invisible) to 100 (fully opaque). Tip Decreasing an object’s opacity makes it more transparent—its color range diminishes. That is, as in nature, fewer color variations result as the object becomes more transparent. At very low opacity settings (below 25%), most color “washes out” and the object takes on shades of gray. If you require precise colors, use opacity levels above 75%. Moving Menus Menus share the Preview monitor screen with objects, and they occupy the top-most layer of the screen. A menu might therefore obscure objects on the page. You can freely move menus and place them anywhere on the screen. ¨ To move a menu, drag it by any non-active area of the menu. The menu title bar is a handy way to drag menus to different locations. SHADOW 10 10 100 % PowerScript remembers menu positions. Each time you display a menu it appears at the same position as the last time you used it, even after powering-down. PowerScript stores the menu positions on the start card, so if you or someone else uses a different card, menu positions might be different. Closing Menus All menus have a close box in the upper-left corner. Click the close box to close the menu and remove it from the screen. To close only the front-most menu (when you have multiple menus open), press the keyboard Esc key. To close all open menus, press Shift+Esc. 60 Videonics PowerScript Menu Navigation Keyboard Controls MENU NAVIGATION KEYBOARD CONTROLS PowerScript provides a wide assortment of keyboard key-combinations you can use to move around inside menus and make selections. These are in addition to the more common navigation methods with a mouse, as described earlier in this chapter. Keyboard navigation keys give you the ability to: • Use PowerScript menus without having to grab the mouse. • Control menu functions using a Telnet application from a remote computer. The following table lists available keyboard key-combinations and their functions. Table 4: Menu Navigation Keys Key Combination Result CONTROLS FOR NAVIGATING MENUS Ctrl+Tab Highlights next control in the menu. Ctrl+Shift+Tab Highlights previous control in the menu. Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Tab Highlights first control in menu. Ctrl+Enter (Use either Enter key) Performs a mouse click on the highlighted menu control. Acts exactly as though you had clicked on the control. CONTROLS FOR NAVIGATING SCROLLABLE LISTS (Cursor must be positioned inside scrolling list) Ctrl+Up Arrow Moves up one line in list. That is, selects the item (if present) immediately above the current item. Ctrl+Down Arrow Moves down one line in the list. That is, selects the item (if present) immediately below the current item. Shift+Ctrl+Up Arrow Scrolls up ten lines in the scrollable list. Shift+Ctrl+Down Arrow Scrolls down ten lines in the scrollable list. CONTROLS FOR MENU CHECK BOXES (Check Box must be selected) Ctrl+Enter (Use either Enter key) Toggles check box setting. That is, if check box is selected (checked), this key combination deselects (unchecks) it, and vice versa. Ctrl+Up Arrow Selects (checks) the option, regardless of its current state. Ctrl+Down Arrow Deselects (unchecks) the option, regardless of its current state. EXAMPLE: To change the value in a text box, enter Ctrl+Tab as many times as necessary to move to the text box. PowerScript highlights each menu control, in turn, as you move through them. When the text box you want is highlighted, enter the value you want on the keyboard, then press Alpha Enter. 61 Notes 5 Working with Objects Objects represent the basic building blocks for creating PowerScript pages—that is, to create a page, place one or more objects on the page. Objects can be of several types, including: • Geometric Objects—lines, boxes, and ovals • Text Object— one or more characters in a string of text • Graphic Object—a separate graphic file stored on a PC Card • Clock Object—an easy way to display the current date and time Whenever you place objects on a page, each one remains an individual, independent entity. You can therefore change an object’s characteristics (known as object attributes) without disturbing other objects on the page. For example, you might have a yellow text object sitting atop a dark blue box, then decide the box should be dark green. Select the box and change its fill color (an attribute) from dark blue to dark green. Chapter 5 Working with Objects Examples of PowerScript Objects Text Object with Drop Shadow Graphic Object New Bedford Oval Object Rescaled Text Object 4 23:20 Clock Object Rotated Box Objects Note If this doesn’t seem like a particularly important feature, think about it this way: if you weren’t able to select the box object and work with it individually, you would have to carefully paint around all of the text characters to change the background from blue to green—a tedious and time-consuming process. Once you place an object on a page, you can manipulate the object in many different ways. In addition to changing its attributes, you can move an object, change its size, rotate it, change its color, add a drop shadow, and so forth. 64 Videonics PowerScript Objects and Page Layers OBJECTS AND PAGE LAYERS Every object on a page occupies its own layer. Think of layers as transparent sheets laid atop one another with an object on each sheet. Depending on how you position the sheets (or layers) relative to one another might cause one object to partially or completely cover another. Objects, Page Layers, and Stacking Order Fourth Layer Third Layer Second Layer First Layer Press † to cycle through the objects from top-to-bottom. Press ß+† to cycle through the objects from bottom-to-top. The illustration above shows a page containing four objects, and the resulting image from two different object arrangements. On the left, the objects appear in their original order, with Layer 1 being the bottom-most (the first object created) and Layer 4 being the top-most (the last object created). The illustration on the right shows what happens when you change the order of the objects—the text object “A” becomes the top-most object; the rectangle object moves to the layer below the text object; the circle and line objects occupy the bottom layers, respectively. Note Stacking objects one atop another can make it difficult to select objects buried beneath the top layer or layers. PowerScript provides a way to simplify this task. By pressing the Tab key, you can cycle through the objects from top-to-bottom: by pressing Shift+Tab, you can cycle through from bottom-to-top. As you can see, the stacking order of objects on a page has a great deal to do with the final appearance of the page. PowerScript provides you with an easy way to change the objects stacking order (see “Using the SELECT Menu” on page 70). Before concerning yourself with changing the stacking order, however, you need to know how to place and select objects. 65 Chapter 5 Working with Objects PLACING OBJECTS You use the same basic procedure to place any object. However, each type of object has a slightly different method due to its individual requirements. The basic procedure for placing any object is as follows: 1 Click the Create option on the MAIN MENU to display the CREATE menu (as a shortcut for placing an object, enter the Ctrl key combination indicated below). Placing Objects / CREATE Menu Create Text Object / Ctrl+T Create Line Object / Ctrl+L Create Box Object / Ctrl+B Create Oval Object / Ctrl+O Place Graphic Object / Ctrl+E Create Clock Object / Ctrl+K 2 Click the type of object you want to create on the CREATE menu. What happens next depends on the type of object you create. However, in all cases the object eventually appears with a bounding rectangle and object handles (described later in this chapter). Geometric Objects When you create a geometric object (line, box, or oval) the object automatically appears as a pre-defined shape at the center of the screen. It’s that simple—you can now work with the object in whatever way you require. Text Objects When you create a text object, it is initially empty—that is, it does not contain any characters. The object, however, appears at the center of the screen ready for you to enter whatever text you want it to contain. To learn about entering text, setting text attributes, using word wrap, and so forth, see “Working with Text Objects”beginning on page 70. Graphic Objects To create a graphic object you must first select the one you want to place on the page. When you click the Graphic option (or enter Ctrl+E), the GRAPHIC menu appears. To place a graphic object on a page: 1 Click the name of the file you want in the Graphic Files List (this selects the file). 2 Click the Place Graphic button. The object appears at the center of the page. PowerScript comes with an assortment of graphic files provided by Videonics. They are located in the EPS directory on the PowerScript Start Card. For a list and description of the files, see Appendix C, PowerScript-Provided Graphic Files. 66 Videonics PowerScript Clock Objects Placing Objects / GRAPHICS Menu GRAPHICS A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: ARROW1.EPS ARROW2.EPS ARROW3.EPS ARROW4.EPS ARROW5.EPS ARROW6.EPS ARROW7.EPS BOX1.APS BOX2.APS BOXX3.EPS CC.EPS CCSYMBOL.EPS CHECK1.EPS CIRCLE2.APS CIRCLE3.APS CIRCLE4.APS Graphic Files List This list shows all graphic files available on all PC cards inserted in the PowerScript PC Card slots. The types of files you might find listed here include EPS, APS, PCX, JPG, and GIF. Selected Graphic File Indicates which PC Card holds the graphic file—A: indicates the front slot, B: indicates the rear slot. Place Graphic Button COPY XYZZY RENAME DELETE To learn about ways you can work with graphic files (such as moving, rotating, and resizing them), see “Working with Graphic Objects”beginning on page 72. Clock Objects Placing a clock object is similar to placing a text object except that the object is not initially empty—it contains the date and/or time in the format you specify (see “Time & Date Setup” on page 121). You cannot edit the content of a clock object—the information is fixed. You can, however, change a clock object’s attributes (font style, font size, fill color, and so forth). Default Object Attributes Newly created objects receive their attributes based on what was selected when the object is created. • If no other objects are selected, the new object receives the attributes from the last object created or edited. For example, if you change an oval from blue to green, deselect all objects (as explained in the next section), then create a new box, the box receives a green fill color. • If you want the new object to inherit the attributes of an existing object, select that object, then create the new one. If you select multiple objects, the new object inherits the attributes from the object that occupies the top-most layer of the group. 67 Chapter 5 Working with Objects SELECTING OBJECTS Before you can modify an object, you must first select it. You can easily select one object, multiple objects, or all objects on a page. You can also easily deselect one, several, or all objects on a page. Selecting Objects One Object Selected New Bedford 4 New Bedford 23:20 All Objects Selected New Bedford 4 Two Objects Selected 4 23:20 No Objects Selected New Bedford 23:20 4 23:20 Bounding Rectangle and Object Handles When you select an object or objects, PowerScript displays a bounding rectangle around the object with object handles at each of the four corners. The bounding rectangle completely surrounds the selected object or objects and serves as a visual aid to help you identify selected objects. The object handles provide a way to manipulate the selected object or objects. Object Handles and Bounding Rectangle Bounding Rectangle Move Handle Rotate Handle Object Skew Handle Resize Handle Selected Object 68 In addition to the handles shown here, a Word Wrap handle appears when you activate the Word Wrap feature. See “Using Word Wrap” on page 82. Videonics PowerScript Object Selection Methods Move Handle—Click and drag to move the object to a different location. With the exception of a text object, you can also click and drag within the object’s bounding rectangle, which is sometimes easier than dragging the Move handle. Also see “Nudging Objects” on page 75 to learn how to move objects in small, precise increments. Move Rotate Rotate Handle—Click and drag to rotate the object around its center point. The position of the object handles change when you rotate an object. For example, if you rotate an object 180˚, the Rotate handle subsequently appears in the lower left corner of the object, rather than its normal, upper-right corner position. Skew Resize Skew Handle—Click and drag to slant the object from its center point. Resize Handle—Click and drag to make the object larger or smaller, or to distort its aspect ratio (or, perspective). Use the object handles when precision adjustments aren’t critical to your work. When you need to do precise rotating, skewing, or resizing objects, use the options in the MODIFY menu (see “Changing Object Orientation” on page 74). Object Selection Methods The simplest way to select a single object is to click on it. This displays the object’s bounding rectangle and object handles. When you first place or create a new object on a page, PowerScript automatically selects it for you. You can select multiple objects in two different ways: Dragging to select an object or objects • Shift+Click—Select the first object, then hold down the Shift key while clicking the other objects. • Drag—Position the mouse pointer in an unoccupied area of the page, above and to the left of the first object you want to select, then drag a rectangle around the other objects. Release the mouse button when the rectangle encloses or touches all of the objects. PowerScript displays the bounding rectangle (in red) of any object you touch while dragging. To select all objects on the page, display the SELECT menu (Ctrl+F5) and choose the Select All option, or enter Ctrl+A. You can also use the Shift+Click or Drag method to select all objects on a page. Sometimes you’ll find it necessary to deselect one or more selected objects. • To deselect all objects on the page, click in any open area of the page, or enter Ctrl+Shift+A. • To deselect one or more objects from a group selection, Shift+Click the objects you want to deselect. When objects overlap on their layers, it might be difficult to select those that are behind others. You can use the To Back and To Front options on the SELECT menu (see below) to rearrange the layers, or temporarily move an object to the clipboard using the Cut option on the CLIP menu. When you stack objects one atop another and they overlap, use the following method to cycle through the objects to select the one you want. • Press Tab to cycle through the objects from top-to-bottom, relative to their stacking order. • Press Shift+Tab to cycle through the objects from bottom-to-top, relative to their stacking order. 69 Chapter 5 Working with Objects Using the SELECT Menu The SELECT menu provides options for selecting objects and for changing the stacking order of layers on a page. To display the SELECT menu, click the Select option on the MAIN MENU, or enter Ctrl+F5. SELECT Menu SELECT ALL Select all objects on page / Ctrl+A TO FRONT Move selected object(s) to front layer of page / Ctrl+F TO BACK Move selected object(s) to back layer of page / Ctrl+Shift+F WORKING WITH TEXT OBJECTS Tip As soon as you create a new text object you might want to type at least one character into the object, if only as a place holder. This is because the object is so narrow that it can be difficult to come back later and select it for entering final text. You can, of course, type the entire contents when the object first appears, if you are ready to do so. While typing, the text cursor (described in the next section) moves inside the text object to mark your position. Use the keyboard arrow keys to reposition the cursor at any time, or click in the object where you want the cursor to be. Characters you type always appear at the current text cursor location—that is, they do not overwrite the existing text. However, if you first select some of the text before typing (as explained below), the new characters replace the selected ones. You can change text attributes on the fly—that is, while you type. For example, assume that when you begin entering text it receives default attributes of Heavenetica font, 36 point, yellow fill color. After typing a few characters, change the attributes to Temps font, 24 point, blue fill color. When you continue typing, the text uses the new attributes. Word Wrap, a feature you can turn on or off, automatically breaks lines of text in a text object by fitting the lines to the size of the object. If you prefer, you can force line endings by typing the Alpha Enter key where you want a line to break. See “Using Word Wrap” on page 82 for more information. You can enter special and accented characters while typing or editing. See “Accented Fonts and Special Characters” on page 197 for more information. Selecting and Editing Text When you want to modify an existing text object by moving, rotating, skewing, or resizing it, use the object handles (as described on page 68) or the MODIFY menu (described on page 74). 70 Videonics PowerScript Object Outlines while Editing When you want to edit the text object content or change its attributes, you must first select the characters you want to change, or insert the text cursor at the proper location. Selecting Text in a Text Object Text Cursor Stockholm, Sweden Click here …Drag to here… Release To select text in an existing text object: 1 Select the text object if it isn’t already selected. 2 Place the mouse pointer to the immediate left of the first character you want to select (inside of the text object’s bounding rectangle). 3 Drag right to select the other characters you want to select. (You can also click and drag from right to left if you want.) 4 Release the mouse button. Tip To select all characters in a selected text object, enter Ctrl+A (Select All). PowerScript highlights the selected text by enclosing it in a gray rectangle. (If the page background color does not provide sufficient contrast, the gray selection rectangle might be hard to see.) If you didn’t select the text you intended to, just repeat the procedure. PowerScript also automatically moves the text cursor to the point where you released the mouse button. If you begin typing at this point, whatever you enter replaces the selected text. To remove the selected text do any of the following: • Press the Backspace key. • Choose the Clear option from the CLIP menu (Ctrl+Shift+F6). • Enter Ctrl+Shift+X. Pressing Backspace when no text is selected removes the character that precedes the text cursor. To insert new characters in an existing text object: 1 Select the text object if it isn’t already selected. 2 Click inside the text object at the point where you want to insert new characters. The text cursor appears at that location. 3 Type the characters you want to add. Object Outlines while Editing To improve clarity and speed, PowerScript temporarily converts all other objects and menus on a page to simple outlines when you edit a text object. The objects reappear when you deselect the text object. You can also make the other objects reappear by rightclicking. 71 Chapter 5 Working with Objects WORKING WITH GRAPHIC OBJECTS After placing a graphic object on a page, you can modify the object in the following ways: Move Skew Resize Opacity Rotate Animate You cannot modify a graphic object’s: Fill color Shadow Attributes Outline Embedded Text In addition to the graphic files provided with PowerScript, you can obtain or create other graphics. To do so, you need the proper tools, as explained below. Purchase clip art libraries of graphics from various sources. To use them with PowerScript, you need a way to move them from their original media onto a PC Card that you can insert in PowerScript. Some laptop-type computers can read and store information on PC cards. Another way is to create a connection between your computer platform and PowerScript. You can then copy the files from the computer to PowerScript. Create graphic files if you have a computer platform and the necessary software application—such as Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Macromedia FreeHand, and others. Here again, you need a way to move the files from the computer to PowerScript. Also keep in mind that graphic object performance (that is, the speed with which objects can be drawn on the screen) depends on how the object is initially created. Tip Videonics PowerScript Communicator software greatly simplifies the process of moving files back and forth between PowerScript and a computer platform. See the PowerScript Communicator documentation for additional information. Also see “Using Graphic Files” on page 134 for information about file types and creating your own graphic files to use with PowerScript. Deleting Graphic Files You can remove one or more of the graphic files from a Start Card if you decide you don’t need them any longer. Be aware of the difference between deleting a graphic object from a page and deleting a graphic file from a Start Card. To delete a graphic object from a page: 72 1 Select the object on the page. 2 Display the SELECT menu (Ctrl+F5) and click the Clear option, or enter Ctrl+Shift+X. Videonics PowerScript Deleting Graphic Files To delete a graphic file from a PC Card: WARNING! Deleting a graphic file from a start card permanently removes the file. If you want to use the file at some later time, copy it to a different PC Card as a backup before deleting it. To copy the file you need to establish a link between PowerScript and a computer (see Chapter 8, PowerScript Computer Connections). 1 Display the CREATE menu (Ctrl+Shift+F5) and click the EPS option, or enter Ctrl+E, to display the EPS menu—as described earlier in this section. 2 Select the graphic file you want to delete in the Graphic File List. 3 Click the Delete button. You can also use the FILES menu to delete files from a PC Card. See “Working with Files and Directories” on page 126 for further instructions. After clicking Delete, PowerScript asks you to confirm that you really want to delete the file. The file is not deleted until you confirm that is what you want to do. If you delete a graphic file from a PC Card, then display a PowerScript page that originally contained that graphic, the object doesn’t appear on the page. 73 Chapter 5 Working with Objects CHANGING OBJECT ORIENTATION This section explains how to modify objects by moving, skewing, rotating, and resizing them. For information about changing an object’s appearance, see “Modifying Object Attributes” on page 77. In addition to the methods described in this section, you can use an object’s handles to move, skew, rotate, and resize objects. See “Bounding Rectangle and Object Handles” on page 68. Note Modifying bit-map objects (such as PCX, GIF, JPEG, and some EPS graphics) can result in image distortion. This is particularly noticeable when increasing object scale and rotating an object. To modify an object or objects: 1 Select the object or objects you want to modify, if not already selected. 2 Click the Modify option on the MAIN MENU to display the MODIFY menu, or enter Ctrl+F7. MODIFY Menu MODIFY Object Visibility Option / Ctrl+Shift+F7 aa 100 a 220 a a a 3 % Horizontal Size Option Vertical Size Option 50 Rotation Option 0 0 Uniform Scale Option % Skew Option Select the Object Visibility Option (Ctrl+Shift+F7) to make the object visible—deselect to make the object invisible. Invisible objects retain all of their originally assigned attributes. Making an object invisible is a handy way to hide an object while working on one that overlaps it. Changing an object’s visibility is also a useful animation technique. 4 74 The Uniform Scale Option makes the object larger or smaller while retaining its original aspect ratio (or, perspective). Enter a percentage value in the text box. A value greater than 100 increases the size—a value from zero to 99 reduces the size. Videonics PowerScript Nudging Objects 5 The Horizontal Size Option stretches the object only on its horizontal (X) axis. The values represent pixels. 6 The Vertical Size Option works exactly like the Horizontal Scale Option excepts that it stretches the object along its vertical (Y) axis. The values represent pixels (or, video scan lines). 7 The Rotation Option rotates the object around its center point. Positive values (in degrees) rotate the object clockwise—negative values rotate counterclockwise. 8 The Skew Option slants the object from its center point. Positive values (in percentage) slant the object to the left—negative values slant to the right. Tip When modifying graphic objects, use Ctrl+Shift+F7 to display only the object’s outline rather than the object itself. This increases PowerScript’s “redraw” performance so you can work faster. When you finish making modifications, enter Ctrl+Shift+F7 again to display the object in its modified state. Nudging Objects To move (or, nudge) an object in small, precise increments, use the keyboard arrow keys. Each press of a key moves the object one pixel (the size of a video scan line) in the designated direction. To move the object in 10-pixel increments, hold down the Shift key while pressing an arrow key. 75 Chapter 5 Working with Objects CUTTING, COPYING, PASTING, AND CLEARING OBJECTS PowerScript provides a temporary holding area (called the clipboard) where you can store objects. The clipboard is temporary because whenever you place an object on the clipboard, that object completely replaces the current clipboard contents. Furthermore, when you turn off PowerScript, it discards the clipboard contents. You access the clipboard through the CLIP menu. To display the CLIP menu, click the Clip option on the MAIN MENU, or enter Ctrl+Shift+F6. CLIP Menu CLIP CUT COPY Only the CUT, COPY, and PASTE options work in conjunction with the clipboard PASTE CLEAR Removes the selected object(s) from the page Does NOT place them on the clipboard UNDO Reverses the last action you performed Cut (Ctrl+X)—Removes the currently selected object or objects from the page and places them on the clipboard. The new objects replace the current clipboard contents, if any. Copy (Ctrl+C)—Places a duplicate of the currently selected object or objects on the clipboard. The original object(s) remain on the page. The copied objects replace the current clipboard contents, if any. Paste (Ctrl+V)—Places a copy of the current clipboard contents at the center of the current page. The clipboard contents remain unchanged. Clear (Ctrl+Shift+X)—Removes the currently selected object or objects from the page but does NOT place them on the clipboard. Undo (Ctrl+Z)—Reverses your last action. You can undo most changes to an object’s position, orientation (such as rotate and scale), and object attributes. You cannot undo changes to Projects or Pages, such as deleting a page. 76 Videonics PowerScript Aligning Objects ALIGNING OBJECTS Aligning objects on a page gives the page a professional, polished appearance. To align objects: 1 Select two or more objects to align, if not already selected. 2 Click the Align option on the MAIN MENU to display the ALIGN menu, or enter Ctrl+F8. ALIGN Menu Align Center / Ctrl+Alt+C ALIGN Align Left / Ctrl+Alt+L Align Right / Ctrl+Alt+R Align Tops / Ctrl+Alt+T Align Bottoms / Ctrl+Alt+B Align Middle / Ctrl+Alt+M 3 Select the alignment option or options you want in the ALIGN menu. You can combine different alignment options. For example, select Align Center, then Align Middle to align the objects directly on top of one another: select Align Right, then Align Bottoms to align the objects at their bottom, right corner. MODIFYING OBJECT ATTRIBUTES Object attributes determine how an object appears on-screen. They include color, opacity (or, transparency), and drop shadow. This section explains how to assign attributes to objects. (For information about moving, rotating, skewing, and resizing objects, see “Changing Object Orientation” on page 74.) Tip PowerScript provides a Styles feature that lets you apply attributes to an object using only a single key stroke or key combination. See “Working with Styles” on page 102 for details and further instructions. This section begins by explaining the basic procedures for setting an object’s color (or, fill), opacity, drop shadow, and outline. It also contains subsections devoted to changing attributes for text and graphic objects because they have attributes that other objects do not. Attribute Options As with most PowerScript functions, you assign object attributes by working with menus. The FILL, SHADOW, and OUTLINE menus contain option check boxes in the upper left corner, next to the menu close box. You must select the option when you want the object to display the attributes you specify—deselect the check box to suppress display of the assigned attributes. Other Menu Controls Most of the menus also contain special, common controls for controlling such factors as Hue, Saturation, and Brightness. For descriptions of these controls, see “Working with Menus and Menu Controls” on page 58. 77 Chapter 5 Working with Objects Setting Object Color (Fill) To specify the color and fill for an object or objects: 1 Select the object or objects with which you want to work, if not already selected. 2 Click the Fill option on the MAIN MENU to display the FILL menu, or enter Ctrl+F3. FILL Menu Fill On/Off FILL HUE 33 SATURATION 100 BRIGHTNESS 0 OPACITY Current Fill Selection 100 3 Select the Fill On/Off option to make the object’s fill visible. Deselect the option to make the object’s fill invisible. 4 Set the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness values for the object’s fill color. Use the slider knobs and/or slider buttons for approximate settings—use the text boxes for precise color values. When you want to assure that two or more objects have exactly the same fill color, enter the same values in the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness text boxes for each object. 5 Set the object’s fill Opacity. Use the slider knob for approximate settings—use the text boxes for precise values. Here again, when you want to assure that two or more objects have exactly the same fill opacity, enter the same values in the Opacity text box for each object. For more specific information about Hue, Saturation, Brightness, and Opacity, see “Sliders and Text Values” on page 59. Creating Object Drop Shadows PowerScript drop shadows always appear behind the object they shadow. You can control the distance (or, displacement) between the object and its drop shadow, and also control the shadow’s opacity. Tip Drop shadows can be more than a nice effect for some text objects—specifically, those that are white or have a light fill color. When lightly colored text appears as an overlay on video, the characters might be difficult to see due to their tendency to “wash out” around the edges. This might also occur if there is very little contrast between the text and a solid colored background. Drop shadows give the text better definition, making it much easier to read. Tip You cannot assign shadow attributes to placed graphic objects. If you create a graphic that has embedded text or other elements, create the drop shadow (if necessary) in the original file. 78 Videonics PowerScript Creating Object Drop Shadows Note Drop shadows increase object display time. For example, when you add a drop shadow to a text object, it takes longer to display that object. You can use the prerendering option (see “Pre-Rendering Pages” on page 108) to speed up page playback. To create a drop shadow: 1 Select the object or objects you want to shadow, if not already selected. If you are creating a drop shadow for a text object, you must select the individual characters in the object and not the text object itself. See “Selecting and Editing Text” on page 70. However, if you want to shadow all text in the object, you can select the object then enter Ctrl+A to select all of the text. 2 Click the Shadow option on the MAIN MENU to display the SHADOW menu, or enter Ctrl+F2. SHADOW Menu Shadow On/Off SHADOW 10 10 100 % Shadow Offset Shadow Opacity 3 Select the Shadow On/Off option to make the object’s shadow visible. Deselect to turn the drop shadow off. 4 Specify the Shadow Offset values by entering values in the text boxes. The first value determines the offset to the right or left of the object (positive values set the shadow to the right—negative values set the shadow to the left). The second value controls offset below or above the object (positive values set the shadow below the object—negative values set the shadow above the object). 5 Specify the Shadow Opacity. Use the slider knob for approximate values—enter a percentage value in the text box for precise values. When you want to assure that two or more objects have exactly the same shadow attributes, enter the same values in the Shadow Opacity and/or Shadow Offset text boxes. For more specific information about Opacity, see “Opacity” on page 60. Tip If you want an object’s shadow to appear to completely enclose the object, create an outline for the object rather than using a shadow. See the following section. 79 Chapter 5 Working with Objects Creating Object Outlines Outlines create a border around an object. They are useful for providing an object with good screen definition if the object has a tendency to wash out on the screen. Note Outlines (like drop shadows) increase object display time. For example, when you add an outline to a text object, it takes longer to display that object. Likewise, if you add both a drop shadow and outline to a text object, it takes still longer to display the object. You can use the pre-rendering option (see “Pre-Rendering Pages” on page 108) to speed up page playback. To specify an outline for an object or objects: 1 Select the object or objects you want to outline, if not already selected. 2 Click the Outline option on the MAIN MENU to display the OUTLINE menu, or enter Ctrl+F4. OUTLINE Menu Outline On/Off OUTLINE HUE 33 SATURATION 100 BRIGHTNESS 0 OPACITY 100 Outline Preview 2 Outline Width 3 Select the Outline On/Off option to make the object’s outline visible. Deselect the option to make the outline invisible. 4 Set the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness values for the object’s outline color. Use the slider knobs for approximate settings—use the text boxes for precise color values. When you want to assure that two or more objects have exactly the same outline color, enter the same values in the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness text boxes for each object. 5 Set the object’s outline Opacity. Use the slider knob for approximate settings—use the text boxes for precise values. Here again, when you want to assure that two or more objects have exactly the same outline opacity, enter the same values in the Opacity text box for each object. 6 Enter a value in the Outline Width text box to specify the width (or, weight) of the outline. Note Outline Width also applies to underlined text. That is, if you underline a string of text then outline the text, the underline has the same width as the text outline. For more specific information about Hue, Saturation, Brightness, and Opacity, see “Sliders and Text Values” on page 59. 80 Videonics PowerScript Assigning Attributes to Text Objects Assigning Attributes to Text Objects You can assign fill, shadow, and outline attributes to text objects, as described in the preceding sections. In addition, you can assign the following attributes to text objects: Font StyleFont SizeLine Spacing Character SpacingJustificationUnderlining Note To assign any of the above attributes to a text object, you must first select the object. This is distinctly different from assigning fill, shadow, and outline attributes to text— in which case, as described in the preceding sections, you must select the text characters within the text object rather than the object itself. To assign unique, text object attributes: 1 Select the text object or objects with which you want to work, if not already selected. 2 Click the Text option on the MAIN MENU to display the TEXT menu, or enter Ctrl+F1. TEXT Menu Word Wrap Font TEXT GoodDogPlain Font Size 50 Line Spacing 0 Character Spacing 0 WORD WRAP Justification A Underlining 3 To assign a font to the text object, click the t symbol just to the left of the Font text box, or enter Ctrl+Shift+F1. See “Using the FONTS Menu” later in this section for further instructions. 4 Specify the Font Size you want. Use the slider knob to set approximate sizes—enter a value in the text box for precise sizes. PowerScript font sizes are specified in video scan lines. A character of 480 scan lines fills an entire NTSC-format television screen; a character 580 scan lines fills a PAL-format screen. Font sizes less than about 10 scan lines might not be readable on the screen, even though PowerScript allows you to specify a font size as little as four scan lines. The maximum value you can enter in the Font Size text box is 100. If you want to make the font larger than that, use the text object handles to increase the size. Font height is specified by the designer when creating the font, so sizes can vary from one font to another. When mixing different fonts, you might need to adjust font size using the text object handles or the Font Size text box. 5 Specify the Line Spacing you want. Use the slider knob to set approximate spacing— enter a value in the text box for precise spacing. Line spacing controls vertical spacing between lines. A value of zero spaces lines at their normal distance. Values greater than zero increase the distance between lines. (Typesetters use the term leading [pronounced “ledding”] with regard to line spacing. In this context, it measures the distance from one text baseline to the next.) 81 Chapter 5 Working with Objects 6 Specify the Character Spacing you want (this is often referred to as kerning). Use the slider knob to set approximate spacing—enter a value in the text box for precise spacing. Character spacing controls horizontal spacing between characters. Use low values to bring characters closer together—use higher values to spread them farther apart. You cannot enter a value less than zero. 7 Select a Justification option to align the text in the object to the Left (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L), Center (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C), or Right (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R), respectively. The option applies to all text within the object, even if only a portion of the text is selected. 8 Select the Underlining option (Ctrl+U) to underline the text characters (also see the following Note). PowerScript uses a fixed line width, color, spacing, and so forth for this option. If you want more flexibility, use a line object rather than this option. Note You can assign Font Size, Character Spacing, and Underlining to an entire object, or to specific characters within the object. If you specify these attributes for an entire text object, it applies to all characters in the object. If you select only specific characters within the text object, the attributes apply only to those characters. If you insert the text cursor between two characters, character spacing applies only between the two (no effect on underlining). Using Word Wrap Word Wrap instructs PowerScript to automatically adjust line lengths when you change the size of a text object. For example, suppose you create a text object that is too wide for the area you want it to occupy on the page. If you rescale the object to fit, the size of the characters also scale, thereby changing character height and/or width and, possibly, distorting the characters. With word wrap activated, however, the characters retain their original size and simply readjust the line endings and text object size so that the text fits perfectly within the object, no matter what size you make it. Using Word Wrap Adjusted Text Object with Word Wrap Activated Original Text Object Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs. When you select a Text Object with the Word Wrap feature activated, the Word Wrap Handle appears at the right side of the object. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs. Word Wrap Handle Drag the Word Wrap Handle left or right to change the size of the Text Object. PowerScript automatically adjusts the vertical size of the object and makes all lines fit correctly. To activate word wrap, select the Word Wrap option in the TEXT menu. To deactivate word wrap, deselect the option. 82 Videonics PowerScript Using Word Wrap To use word wrap: Word Wrap Handle 1 Select the text object you want to change. 2 Display the TEXT menu and select the Word Wrap option. 3 Drag the Word Wrap handle left or right. As you drag, the Word Wrap bar (perpendicular to the text baseline) tracks mouse movement. 4 When the Word Wrap bar is at the width you want for the text object, release the mouse button. PowerScript adjusts the object size and re-wraps the text characters to fit within the new dimensions. When using Word Wrap, the following conditions apply: • When you activate the Word Wrap option, the Word Wrap handle appears at the right side of the text object you select. The handle does not appear when you select more than one text object. • Words split only at spaces. That is, if you release the Word Wrap bar in the middle of a word, that word is not split into two segments. • If you want to keep two or more words on the same line at all times, separate them with a non-breaking space. Word Wrap never breaks a line at a non-breaking space. To enter a non-breaking space, type Alt+Spacebar. • If you move the Word Wrap handle to the extreme left side of a text object then release the mouse button, PowerScript automatically sets the width of the text object equal to the width of the longest word in the object. This occurs because, as stated earlier, Word Wrap never breaks a word onto separate lines. • You can toggle Word Wrap on and off using the key combination Ctrl+W. 83 Chapter 5 Working with Objects Using the FONTS Menu The FONTS menu appears when you click the t symbol in the TEXT menu, or enter Ctrl+Shift+F1. FONTS Menu FONTS “A:” indicates that the font is on the PC Card in the front slot. “B:” indicates it is on the card in the rear slot. “R” indicates it is a ROMresident font. A: Bookwoman-DemiItalSH R Bookwoman-DemiSH A: Bookwoman-LightItalSH A: Bookwoman-LightSH R Courier-BoldObliqueSH R Courier-BoldSH R Courier-ObliqueSH R Courier-SH R Forefront-BookObliqueSH R Forefront-BookSH R Forefront-DemiObliqueSH Current Font Selection Bookwoman-LightSH COPY Available Fonts List DELETE Available Fonts List—This list shows the names of all fonts that are currently available. PowerScript examines all currently inserted PC cards for font-type files when it creates this list. PowerScript also displays the names of ROM-resident fonts in this list and precedes the names with the letter R to let you know it is a ROM font and, therefore, you cannot delete it. Current Font Selection—If a text object is selected when you display the FONTS menu, the name of the font assigned to the text object appears in this location. See “Determining Attributes Assigned to Text Objects”in the following section. See Appendix A, PowerScript Fonts, for a list and samples of the fonts included with PowerScript. To assign a font style attribute to a text object: 1 Select some or all of the characters in the text object, depending on which ones you want to change. To select all characters, enter Ctrl+A. 2 Press Ctrl+Shift+F1 to display the FONTS menu. 3 Select the font you want in the Available Fonts List. If the font you want to select does not appear in the list, use the scroll bar at the right side of the list to move it up or down until the font you want appears. When you select a font in the Available Fonts List, PowerScript immediately applies the font to the text selection. You do not have to close the FONTS menu in order to see how the font looks. Drag the FONTS menu to a different location if it hides the text object. If you don’t like the font you’ve selected, simply select a different one. 84 Videonics PowerScript Determining Attributes Assigned to Text Objects Determining Attributes Assigned to Text Objects When you select all or part of the characters within a text object, PowerScript shows you which attributes have been assigned to those characters. The information appears in the TEXT menu, FONTS menu, and the TEXT power menu. FONTS TEXT GoodDogPlain WORD WRAP 50 0 0 A 50 Holstein A: Bookwoman-DemiItalSH R Bookwoman-DemiSH A: Bookwoman-LightItalSH A: Bookwoman-LightSH R Courier-BoldObliqueSH R Courier-BoldSH R Courier-ObliqueSH R Courier-SH R Forefront-BookObliqueSH R Forefront-BookSH R Forefront-DemiObliqueSH Bookwoman-LightSH COPY DELETE When you select characters that have different attributes assigned to them, the menus display the attributes for the first selected character in the object. Deleting Fonts from a PC Card To delete a font from a PC Card: WARNING! When you delete a font from a PC Card, that font will no longer be available. Before deleting a font, consider placing a copy of it on a separate PC Card. You need a connection between PowerScript and a computer to save a copy of the file. See Chapter 8, PowerScript Computer Connections, for further information. 1 Select the font you want to delete in the Available Fonts List. 2 Click the Delete button. When you click the Delete button, PowerScript asks you to confirm that you want to remove the font file. PowerScript does not delete the font until you confirm that this is what you want to do. For more information about fonts (including which fonts are included with PowerScript and how to import other PostScript fonts), see Appendix A, PowerScript Fonts. 85 Notes 6 Using PowerScript This chapter contains step-by-step instructions for PowerScript procedures and functions. The primary topics include: • Starting and Stopping PowerScript • Working with Projects • Working with Pages • Using Transitions and Page Duration • Working with Styles • Working with Backgrounds • Playing Projects and Pages Chapter 6 Using PowerScript STARTING AND STOPPING POWERSCRIPT While using PowerScript: • Do not connect or disconnect the mouse or keyboard while PowerScript is running. • You can safely leave the Start Card in the card slot when powering down. • Enter Ctrl+S to save your work before turning PowerScript off. To start PowerScript: 1 Insert the PowerScript Start Card in the PC Card slot on the front panel. 2 Turn on the power switch, located on the PowerScript rear panel. ARD RT C STA If you don’t insert the Start Card before turning on the power switch, this picture appears on the screen (after a few moments) prompting you to insert the Start Card It normally takes about 15 to 30 seconds for PowerScript to power up all the way. Note If you are using an Ethernet adapter with PowerScript, you must insert the PowerScript Start Card in the front slot and the Ethernet adapter in the rear slot—otherwise, PowerScript will not start. For more information regarding the use of Ethernet adapters, see Chapter 8, PowerScript Computer Connections. To stop PowerScript: 1 Enter Ctrl+S to save your work, or display the PROJECT/PAGE menu and click the Save option. 2 Turn off the power switch. Doing a System Reset It is a rare occurrence, but if PowerScript ceases to function during normal operation, enter Ctrl+Alt+Delete to reset (that is, restart) PowerScript. If this fails to restart PowerScript, turn the power switch off, wait a few moments, then turn on the power switch again. 88 Videonics PowerScript Working with Projects WORKING WITH PROJECTS A PowerScript Project helps organize your work. A project can be as simple as creating a text title for a video movie, or it might be as complex as creating many different components for a full-scale production—such as an animated text title, scrolling film credits, graphics of maps and diagrams, and so forth. A Project File is actually a directory on a PC Card. Saving Projects When you begin work on a new project, you first create a new project file (see Warning, below). You normally store (or, save) a project file on a PC Card. This allows you to open the project file (by selecting it from the PC Card), modify the project (by making additions, changes, and deletions), then store the updated project file for future use. WARNING! PowerScript saves your projects as you work. Although a Save option is available to save your work whenever you want, it is important to understand that even if you do not use the Save option, PowerScript, nonetheless, saves your work as you go. Therefore, when you want to experiment with changes to an existing project without changing the original, make a copy of the original and work only on the copy. This preserves the original project while also allowing you to introduce whatever changes you might want to test. If, after making changes to the copy you want to retain them, delete the original project from the PC Card and rename the copy to the name of the original. See “Copying an Existing Project”later in this section. Another way to prevent changes to existing projects and pages is to “lock” them. See “Working with Files and Directories”beginning on page 126 for more information about this function. Tip If you are working on a rather large and/or complex project, consider purchasing a new PC Card for storing the project and all of the associated material that goes with it. For smaller, less complex projects, you might want to store several different projects on the same PC Card, or use PowerScript Communicator to store projects on a personal computer or a network. Using Project Names When you store a project file on a PC Card, you must assign the project a name. The name identifies the project. Project names must conform to a computer-based, DOS naming convention. That is, the name cannot contain more than 8 characters—so you need to be a little imaginative coming up with easily recognizable names. When you store a project on a PC Card, PowerScript automatically adds a period (.) and a three-character file type (PRJ) to the name you provide. For example, if you name a project BIRTHDAY, PowerScript stores it on the PC Card under the name BIRTHDAY.PRJ. You do not have to enter the PRJ file type extension when entering the project name. A project name must be unique on any given PC Card—you cannot have two projects with the same name on the same PC Card. 89 Chapter 6 Using PowerScript Using the Project/Page Menu You do all project functions from within the PROJECT/PAGE menu (shown below). Project functions appear on the left side of the menu. PROJECT/PAGE Menu — Project-Related Options PROJECT/ PAGE PROJECTS PAGES COMMENT COMMENT Page-related Options See page 93. Project Comment Available Projects List CHANGE PG. # Project Function Buttons CUT NEW 1 2 COPY RENUMBER ALL DELETE PASTE COPY AUTO-SAVE XYZZY RENAME DELETE NEW: ABOVE NEW: BELOW NEW: END SAVE To access the PROJECT/PAGE menu: 1 If the MAIN MENU is not visible on the screen, enter Ctrl+Right-click to display it. (You might have to enter the control key twice if the menus are hidden.) 2 Click the Proj/Pg option to display the PROJECT/PAGE menu, or enter Ctrl+F12. The Available Projects List shows all projects available on the PC cards currently inserted in the front and/or rear slots. The slot identifier A: precedes the names of those projects available on the card in the front, and B: precedes those in the rear slot When you select a project in the Available Projects List, the comment associated with that project (if any) appears in the Comment text box. The remainder of this section explains the use of the Project Function Buttons. 90 Videonics PowerScript Creating New Projects Creating New Projects To create a new project: 1 Click the New project function button in the PROJECT/PAGE menu. NEW PROJECT PC CARD: A: (FRONT) B: (BACK) The NEW PROJECT menu appears when you click the New button. NEW PROJECT NAME .PRJ COMMENT NEW 2 Enter a name for the project in the New Project Name text box. Do not enter the PRJ file type extension—PowerScript provides it automatically. See “Using Project Names” earlier in this section for additional information. 3 Select the PC Card where you want to store the project file—A: (FRONT) or B: (REAR). 4 You can optionally enter a comment about the project in the Comment text box. A comment can contain a maximum of 20 characters. The entry is not required. When you do provide a comment, it appears in the Available Projects List appended to the project name. 5 Click New to create a new project file on the selected PC Card. 6 Close the NEW PROJECT menu. Copying an Existing Project Sometimes you might find it useful to start a new project by basing it on an existing one, then making whatever modifications you require. The PROJECT/PAGE menu provides an easy way to do this by making a copy of an existing project. To copy an existing project: 1 Insert the PC Card that contains the project you want to copy. 2 Locate and select the project you want to copy in the Available Projects List. 3 Click the Copy project function button. The COPY PROJECT menu appears—it is similar to the NEW PROJECT menu shown above. 4 Enter the name you want to assign to the new project. Observe the project naming conventions described earlier in this section. 5 Select the PC Card where you want to store the project file—A: (FRONT) or B: (REAR). 6 You can optionally enter a comment about the project in the Comment text box. A comment can contain a maximum of 20 characters. The entry is not required. When you do provide a comment, it appears in the Available Projects List appended to the project name. 7 Click the Copy button to create the copy. 8 Close the COPY PROJECT menu. Also see the Warning under “Saving Projects” on page 89 for important information. 91 Chapter 6 Using PowerScript Renaming an Existing Project To rename an existing project: 1 Insert the PC Card that contains the project you want to rename. 2 Locate and select the project you want to rename in the Available Projects List. 3 Click the Rename project function button. The RENAME PROJECT menu appears—it is similar to the NEW PROJECT menu shown above. 4 Enter the new name you want to assign to the project. Observe the project naming conventions described earlier in this section. 5 You can optionally enter a comment about the project in the Comment text box. A comment can contain a maximum of 20 characters. The entry is not required. When you do provide a comment, it appears in the Available Projects List appended to the project name. 6 Click the Rename button to rename the project. 7 Close the RENAME PROJECT menu. Deleting a Project To delete an existing project: 1 Insert the PC Card that contains the project you want to delete. 2 Select the project in the Available Projects List. 3 Click the Delete project function button. After clicking Delete, PowerScript asks you to confirm that you want to delete the project. Click Delete to remove the project; otherwise, click Cancel. Opening an Existing Project When you want to work on an existing project, you must first open it. To open an existing project: 1 Insert the PC Card that contains the project you want to open. The names of all projects on the card appear in the Available Projects List. 2 Select the project in the Available Projects List. When you select a project, all of the pages available in that project appear in the Project Pages list. You can now open pages, copy pages, create new pages, and so forth. For detailed instructions, see the next section, “Working with Pages”. 92 Videonics PowerScript Working with Pages WORKING WITH PAGES A page is an individual component of a project—it is basically the component that appears on the screen at any given time. Pages contain objects, such as graphics and text. A project can consist of one or many different pages. You store pages by project on PC Cards. Every page is stored in the project file to which it pertains A page can be static (or, unmoving), or it can be animated. Pages can play automatically or under manual control. They can be larger than the screen and use roll and crawl or animation to display their contents. A page can be assigned a transition to control how it enters and exits the screen. You access the pages in a project from the PROJECT/PAGE menu. Page control options appear on the right side of the menu. PROJECT/PAGE Menu—Page-Related Options See “Using the Project/Page Menu”earlier in this chapter if you need help displaying this menu. PROJECT/ PAGE PROJECTS Page Comment PAGES COMMENT Project-related Options See page 89. COMMENT Project Pages Page Numbering CHANGE PG. # CUT NEW 1 2 COPY RENUMBER ALL DELETE PASTE Page Actions COPY AUTO-SAVE XYZZY RENAME DELETE NEW: ABOVE NEW: BELOW NEW: END SAVE Page Functions When you select a project in the Available Projects List, the pages available in that project appear in the Project Pages list. If the page you want does not appear in the list, use the scroll bar at the right of the list to scroll up or down as necessary. Numbers precede the page names in the Project Pages to provide unique identification of the pages. You can use the Page Numbering controls to renumber the pages. This procedure is explained later in this section. When you select a page in the Project Pages list, the comment associated with that page (if any) appears in the Comment text box. Use the Page Function buttons to create, cut, copy, and paste pages. Use the Page Action buttons to save and delete pages. Each of these buttons is explained later in this section. 93 Chapter 6 Using PowerScript Selecting a Page to Preview In order to work with a page, you need to display it on the Preview monitor. To display a page, select it in the Project Pages list. Remember, if the page you want does not appear in the list, use the scroll bar at the right side of the list to move up or down in the list. Several other methods exist for navigating between pages. See “Using the Playback Controls” on page 109 for more information. Creating Pages You can create new pages for a project by inserting new, blank pages, or you can copy existing pages from other existing projects or from the same project. Inserting New, Blank Pages Use the New:Above, New:Below, and New:End page function buttons to insert new, blank pages in the project. New:Above inserts the page immediately before the one currently selected in the Project Pages list. New:Below inserts the page immediately after the currently selected one. New:End (or Ctrl+N) inserts the page immediately after the last page in the project. PowerScript assigns infinite page duration to all new pages created in this manner. See “Working with Transitions and Page Duration” on page 96 for more information. Using Cut, Copy, and Paste The Cut button removes the currently selected page from the Project Pages list and places it on the clipboard. The Copy button places a duplicate of the currently selected page on the clipboard, but leaves the original in the Project Pages list. The Paste button inserts the contents of the clipboard into the Project Pages list immediately after the currently selected page. The clipboard contents remain unchanged. When you paste a cut or copied page, that page retains all of the attributes assigned to the original page, including transitions and page duration. Adding and Changing Page Comments Page comments are optional. If a page has a comment assigned to it, the comment appears in the Comment text box when you select the page in the Project Pages list. ¨ To add or change the comment assigned to a page, select the page in the Project Pages list, then type the comment in the Comment text box. If you do not provide a comment for a page then add a text object to that page, PowerScript automatically assigns the text object contents as the page comment. It uses only the content of the first text object placed on the page. Renumbering and Reordering Pages All pages in a project have a unique identification number, which appears to the left of the page name in the Project Pages list. PowerScript automatically keeps all pages in a project in sequential order according to their identification numbers. Furthermore, when you play back the pages in a project, PowerScript always plays them in sequence according to their assigned identification numbers. 94 Videonics PowerScript Saving Pages (Auto Save Option) Page identification numbers use the format nnnnn.nnn (5 digits, followed by a decimal point, followed by 3 more digits). You can use leading zeros, though they aren’t required. You can use the decimal value (following the decimal point) to insert a page between other pages—as explained later in this section. Tip You can use the digits to set up banks of pages. For example, 100-level pages might represent baseball player statistics along with their assigned numbers. When player number 25 enters the game, enter page number 125, then press Enter. The page containing that player’s statistics then appears on the screen. You can change the order of the pages in a project by changing their identification numbers. For example, assume you have three pages numbered 1, 2, and 3, and you want to change page 3’s position so it is between pages 1 and 2. You can accomplish this by changing page 3’s number to 1.5, or any other number that falls between 1 and 2. Note Another way to change the sequence of pages is to use the Cut and Paste buttons described in the preceding section. You can, for example, select page 3 and click Cut to move it to the clipboard. Then select page 1 and click Paste. The page gets inserted immediately below page 1 and is automatically renumbered as required. To change the number of an existing page: 1 Select the page you want to renumber in the Project Pages list. The number assigned to that page appears in the Change Page # text box. 2 Click in the Change Page # text box. 3 Type the number you want to assign to the page. It appears in the Change Page # text box. 4 Press Enter. The page receives the new number and automatically adjusts its position in the Project Pages list, if necessary. To reassign numbers to all pages in the Project Pages list: 1 Select the project whose pages you want to renumber in the Available Projects List. 2 Click Renumber All. PowerScript automatically uses whole integers when you renumber pages in this fashion. That is, numbers get assigned starting with 1, then 2, then 3, and so forth. Saving Pages (Auto Save Option) You can save pages automatically as you work, or save them only when you explicitly direct PowerScript to do so. You control this option by selecting or deselecting the Auto Save option in the Page Actions area of the PROJECT/PAGE menu. Auto Save SELECTED—When you select this option, PowerScript automatically saves pages as your work. That is, each and every time you make a change to a page, PowerScript saves the page automatically. Auto Save DEselected—When you DEselect this option, PowerScript saves pages (and any changes you might have made) only when you click the Save button. This mode gives you the freedom to make experimental changes to a page, then save the page only when you are completely satisfied with those changes. PowerScript provides an indication of which mode you are currently using. When the edit cursor appears Green, PowerScript is in Auto Save mode—when the cursor appears Red, PowerScript is in Non-Auto (or, Manual) Save mode. 95 Chapter 6 Using PowerScript Deleting Pages To delete a page: 1 Select the page you want to delete in the Project Pages list. 2 Click Delete. After clicking Delete, PowerScript asks you to confirm that you want to delete the project. Click Delete to remove the project; otherwise, click Cancel. WORKING WITH TRANSITIONS AND PAGE DURATION A Transition is a special effect (such as a dissolve or a wipe) that occurs when PowerScript displays a page on the screen. Transitions are particularly useful when a project contains multiple pages, although you can apply them to a single page. Page Duration determines the length of time that a page remains on the screen once it is displayed. You can control page duration programmatically, manually, or using GPI. This section explains how to use programmed and manual durations. For information about controlling duration using GPI, see “Working with GPI, Time Triggers, and Auto-Start” on page 115. The following illustration shows the relationship between transitions and page duration. Transitions and Page Duration Previous Page Transition IN Current Page Transition OUT Wipe, Slide, Fade, etc. Page Duration Wipe, Slide, Fade, etc. Next Page You can apply a transition when the page comes on-screen (Transition IN) as well as when the page leaves the screen (Transition OUT). You can also specify the length and speed of the transition as well as the effect (wipe, slide, fade, and so forth). Note When PowerScript displays a page, it must first create the page in its memory banks. For most pages, this occurs within a few seconds. Some pages, such as those containing graphics or complex or numerous objects, might take longer. When a project contains multiple, sequential pages, PowerScript holds the current page on the screen until the next page is created and ready to enter the stage. When quick page creation and display is required for the project, avoid using complex pages and rapid page transitions, or pre-render the page (see “Pre-Rendering Pages” on page 108). To specify a page duration: 1 96 Display the PROJECT/PAGE menu (Ctrl+F12), select the page for which you want to set a duration, then close the menu. Videonics PowerScript Working with Transitions and Page Duration 2 Click the Trans option on the MAIN MENU, or enter Ctrl+F10. The TRANSITIONS menu appears. TRANSITIONS Menu Set Transitions Button Transition OUT Duration TRANSITIONS Transition IN Duration + SECS AUTO-SAVE + FRAMES SECS SET TRANSN Save Button FRAMES SAVE A Infinite Duration SEC + FR. C B START STOP PLAY Roll & Crawl Controls SPEED: DURATION: TARGET (SEC.) Play Button ACTUAL Time-Based Duration 3 Specify the type of page duration you want. Select Infinite Duration to play pages manually or under control of an external GPI device. When you play the page, it performs its IN transition, then remains on screen until you press Enter (on the keyboard) or PowerScript receives a GPI trigger. At that point, the OUT transition occurs, and the next page comes on screen. (Note that when you use the Infinite Duration option you cannot animate the page.) To assign the page a fixed duration, select the Time-Based Duration option, then enter values in the Seconds and Frames text boxes. When you play the page, it performs its IN transition, remains on screen for the amount of time you specify, then performs the OUT transition to end the page sequence. To use roll or crawl to control the page duration, use the Roll & Crawl Controls. See “Using Roll and Crawl” on page 99 for details. Also see the Tip at the end of this section. 4 To specify the amount of elapsed time you want for the page to run its IN transition, enter values in the Transition IN Duration text boxes. Enter the number of seconds in the Seconds text box and the number of frames in the Frames text box. 5 Likewise, to specify the amount of elapsed time you want for the page to run its OUT transition, enter values in the Transition OUT Duration text boxes. 6 To see the effect of the transition, click the Play button. This plays the currently selected page on Video OUT. 7 If you’re satisfied with the transition, click the Save button to save it. 97 Chapter 6 Using PowerScript To create special transition effects: 1 Click the Set Transitions button in the TRANSITIONS menu, or enter Ctrl+Shift+F10. The TRANSITION EFFECTS menu appears. TRANSITION EFFECTS Menu TRANSITION EFFECTS A B C SECONDS + FRAMES Transition IN Options Play Button B CUT B B FADE B SELECT WIPE SELECT SLIDE SELECT PATH PLAY SAVE Transition OUT Options SELECT B SELECT AUTO-SAVE Save Options 2 To set the duration for the Transition IN effect enter values in the Seconds and Frames text boxes in the left column. Likewise, to set the duration for the Transition OUT effect, enter values in the right column for Seconds and Frames. 3 Select the type of transition effect you want in the Transition IN and Transition OUT columns. Both columns provide Cut, Fade, Wipe, and Slide options. The Transition IN column also contains the Path option. Cuts and Fades have no other options, but you can specify the time duration for these effects as explained in the previous step. Wipes, Slides, and Paths have other options available. Select the effect you want then click the associated Select button to access the additional effects. Experiment with these options to learn what each one does. 4 To see the effect of the transition, click the Play button. 5 If you’re satisfied with the transition, click the Save button to save it. Tip When you set up a roll for production credits, insert a blank page following the credits page and set the blank page to infinite duration. This permits the credits to roll once then go to a blank screen. Tip To create a dissolve between pages, set the Transition Out Time for the current page and the Transition IN Time for the next page to an equal value. Tip To create a fade between pages, the Transition Times for the current and next pages must differ by at least one frame. 98 Videonics PowerScript Using Roll and Crawl Using Roll and Crawl The Roll & Crawl Controls section provides options for controlling roll and crawl functions. Roll and Crawl Controls Direction START Start/Stop Options STOP SPEED: Speed 4 DURATION: TARGET (SEC.) 12 ACTUAL 10 Duration Target Actual Duration Duration Matching About Duration Matching Two of the Roll & Crawl options (Duration Target and Duration Matching) give you the ability to control how long a roll or crawl takes to complete. This is especially useful in a live broadcast situation where you have a specific amount of time to complete a roll or crawl. For example, suppose you have 12 seconds at the end of a documentary to roll the credits. By setting this as the Duration Target value, PowerScript attempts to complete the roll within that amount of time. Smooth rolls and crawls require that the characters traverse the same number of video lines each video frame. Therefore, not all speeds look smooth. PowerScript automatically selects smooth speeds, so the Target Duration you specify might not be possible. You’ll know when this is the case by checking the Actual Duration value that PowerScript displays. In such cases, use the Duration Matching option to have PowerScript calculate other Actual Duration values based on your preferences (see “Target Options” below). You can repeat this operation until the Actual Duration meets, as closely as possible, your requirements. Read the descriptions of these options later in this section for more information. Direction Use one of the four Direction buttons to specify the direction you want for the roll or crawl. The first button rolls the page upward, the second downward; the third crawls the page right-to-left, the fourth left-to-right. Speed To control the speed of the roll or crawl, enter a value in the Speed text box, or use the slider to set the speed. Speed can range from 1 to 10, with 1 being the slowest and 10 the fastest. Note With respect to Speed and Duration, PowerScript uses whichever option you last specified. For example, if you set a specific Speed, PowerScript adjusts the Duration option accordingly: if you set a specific Duration, PowerScript adjusts the Speed accordingly. 99 Chapter 6 Using PowerScript The following table shows resulting speeds (in fractional and multiples of the scan rate) for the acceptable Speed values. Note that the results are shown for the NTSC/525 and PAL/625 PowerScript models. Table 5: Results of Roll/Crawl Speed Settings Start/Stop Options Speed Setting NTSC/525 Result PAL/625 Result 1 15 lps 12.5 lps 2 30 lps 25 lps 3 60 lps 50 lps 4 120 lps 100 lps 5 180 lps 150 lps 6 240 lps 200 lps 7 300 lps 250 lps 8 360 lps 300 lps 9 420 lps 350 lps 10 480 lps 400 lps Use these options to control where the first and/or last item in the rolling or crawling page appears on the screen. Begin Roll/Crawl from middle of screen u START STOP Begin Roll/Crawl from off-screen End Roll/Crawl at middle of screen End Roll/Crawl off-screen u u You cannot combine a Start off-screen roll/crawl with a Stop off-screen roll/crawl. Duration Target Duration Matching Use this option when you want a roll or crawl to last a specific amount of time. Enter a value indicating the number of seconds you want to allocate for the roll or crawl. For example, if you want the effect to last for 12 seconds, enter that value in the text box. Duration Matching lets you specify a method you want PowerScript to use in attempting to meet the target you have specified. Enter your desired duration in the Duration Target field, then click Duration Matching to display this dialog box. ROLL/CRAWL OPTIONS Target Options Target Options 100 NEXT NEXT NEXT NEXT HIGHER OPTIMUM SPEED LOWER OPTIMUM SPEED HIGHER ACCEPTABLE SPEED LOWER ACCEPTABLE SPEED Each of the four options here (Next Higher/Lower Optimum Speed and Next Higher/Lower Acceptable Speed) apply a different algorithm (or, calculation) to the Duration Target value to determine the closest match. For example, if you set Duration Target to 12 seconds, Videonics PowerScript Dynamically Controlling Roll & Crawl then specify Next Lower Optimum Speed, the algorithm might calculate an Actual Duration of 10 seconds—if you specify Next Lower Acceptable Speed, the algorithm might calculate an Actual Duration of 8 seconds. A trade-off exists between Optimum and Acceptable speeds. Optimum speeds normally produce smoother motion, but might not be able to meet your target as closely as you require. Acceptable speeds might result in “jerkier” motion, but are more likely to meet your required target speed. The only way to determine which option is best for your situation is through experimentation. Select each Target Option in turn and check the resulting Actual Speed factor. Play the sequence to determine if it meets your requirements. If not, try specifying a different Target Option and repeat the process until you are satisfied with the results. If you try all of the Target Options but still are not satisfied with the result, try the following to make the page longer or shorter: Actual Duration • Add some blank lines to the bottom of the page. For a crawl, add blank characters. • Change line spacing on the page—that is, increase or reduce line spacing. For a crawl, vary the letter spacing. • Change the size of the text. • Select the text object and use the MODIFY menu to stretch the object. For example, increasing the height by 5% might be sufficient to extend the length of a roll. This field shows the actual duration that PowerScript is able to provide based on your Duration Target and the Target Option you specify. This is a non-editable text field—that is, you cannot type in the field nor change the value. You can change this factor by changing the Duration Target and/or Target Option in any combination, or by making the page longer or shorter. Dynamically Controlling Roll & Crawl You can control the Roll & Crawl speed while the page plays. When you adjust the speed in this manner, it is “dynamic”—that is, the Roll & Crawl settings in your original project do not change. Your change affects roll and/or crawl only for the current playback session. You might find this feature useful if, for example, in a live-broadcast situation you suddenly determine that you have only 10 seconds to run the closing credits, rather than the 15 seconds you allotted in your original project. When the credits begin to roll, enter the Increase Speed key combination (shown in the following table) to make the credits roll or crawl faster. Keep entering the key combination until the roll or crawl speeds up sufficiently to meet your needs. Similarly, use the Decrease Speed key combination to slow down roll or crawl when you are faced with “dead air time.” Table 6: Roll & Crawl Speed Controls Key Combination Result Ctrl Enter to INCREASE the current Roll or Crawl speed. Continue entering as many times as necessary to achieve the required speed. Ctrl Enter to DECREASE the current Roll or Crawl speed. Continue entering as many times as necessary to achieve the required speed. - 101 Chapter 6 Using PowerScript WORKING WITH STYLES PowerScript Styles provide a quick, easy, accurate way to apply pre-defined attributes to objects. Many computer applications (such as word processing and desktop publishing software) use the concept of styles—if you’re familiar with any of the applications, PowerScript styles will be like an old friend. Styles are extremely useful, for example, when you want a font, size, and color to always appear the same on all pages. You can create a style that uses the required attributes then apply it to the characters on the page with a single key stoke. Shift F1 To apply a style to a selected object or objects, press one of the keyboard function keys (F1 through F12), or hold down the Shift key in combination with a function key. For example, pressing F1 might apply your standard company font style to a text object; pressing Shift+F1 might apply a color to your official company logo. PowerScript provides a default set of 24 styles. You can use the styles as is, or redefine them to your specific needs. The following table shows the default PowerScript styles and provides space where you can record whatever style changes you make to the defaults. Table 7: PowerScript Styles by Function Key 102 Key Default Record the style you assigned… F1 Fill Color = White F1 F2 Fill Color = Yellow F2 F3 Fill Color = Cyan F3 F4 Fill Color = Green F4 F5 Fill Color = Magenta F5 F6 Fill Color = Red F6 F7 Fill Color = Blue F7 F8 Fill Color = Black F8 F9 Fill Color = Gray F9 F10 Logo at upper left Transparency=70%a F10 F11 Logo at lower-right Transparent = 70% F11 F12 Logo at lower-third of screen in center F12 Shift+F1 Heavenetica Narrow Bold White Fill Color Drop Shadow displaced 4 pixels below and right Shift+F1 Shift+F2 Heavenetica Bold White Fill Color Drop Shadow displaced 4 pixels below and right Shift+F2 Videonics PowerScript Working with Styles Table 7: PowerScript Styles by Function Key (Continued) Key Default Record the style you assigned… Shift+F3 Heavenetica Black White Fill Color Drop Shadow displaced 4 pixels below and right Shift+F3 Shift+F4 Courier White Fill Color Drop Shadow displaced 4 pixels below and right Shift+F4 Shift+F5 Courier Bold White Fill Color Drop Shadow displaced 4 pixels below and right Shift+F5 Shift+F6 Temps Bold White Fill Color Drop Shadow displaced 4 pixels below and right Shift+F6 Shift+F7 Bookwoman Demi White Fill Color Drop Shadow displaced 4 pixels below and right Shift+F7 Shift+F8 Forefront Demi White Fill Color Drop Shadow displaced 4 pixels below and right Shift+F8 Shift+F9 VAG Rounded Black White Fill Color Drop Shadow displaced 4 pixels below and right Shift+F9 Shift+F10 Center object at top of screen Shift+F10 Shift+F11 Center on screen at 45-degree angle Shift+F11 Shift+F12 Center on screen Shift+F12 a. This style meets current specifications for TV Parental Guidelines. It can be used to place the TV Guideline GIF icons (see Table 17, PowerScript Graphic Files on page 203) in the upper left corner of the television screen. 103 Chapter 6 Using PowerScript Style Files and Locations PowerScript stores all styles in a single file on one of your PC cards. The styles contained within the style file can be applied to all PowerScript projects. If your PowerScript equipment configuration has the ability to import and export files (for example, if you are using PowerScript Communicator), you can maintain separate style files to use with different projects. In this case, you can import a particular style file when you want to use it with a specific project, then replace the style file when you want to use a different one with a different project. Another way to accomplish this is to create a new Start Card, then apply the styles you want available when using that particular Start Card. See “Creating a Start Card” on page 131. When you start PowerScript, it looks for a file named STYLKEYS.BIN in the STARTUP.SYS directory. It first looks on the PC Card inserted in the front panel PC Card slot (A:); if it does not locate the file there, it looks on the PC Card inserted in the rear slot (B:). If the file is not present at either location, styles are not available. Likewise, when you create or change a style, PowerScript first looks for STYLKEYS.BIN on the front PC Card, then, if necessary, searches the rear PC Card. Applying Styles You can apply styles to an existing object or objects by selecting them before applying a style. You can, for example, select a rectangle and a circle then apply a fill color to both objects at the same time. You can select an entire text object or only specific characters in the text string to apply a style to the selection. To apply a style to an existing object or objects: 1 Select the object or objects you want to change. If you are applying the style to a text object, select the entire text string or only those characters to which you want to apply the style. 2 Press the function key or function key combination (such as F1 or Shift+F8) for the style you want to apply. You can also apply a style that affects only those objects you create subsequently by making sure no objects are selected when you apply the style. For example, if no objects are selected when you apply the red fill color style, when you subsequently create a new rectangle object it receives the red fill color. To apply a style to subsequently created objects: 1 Deselect all objects on the page. 2 Press the function key or function key combination (such as F6 or Shift+F5) for the style you want to apply. 3 Create a new object or objects. Styles apply only in the context of the selection—that is, applying a font style to a rectangle has no effect. You cannot apply styles to imported graphics. Creating and Changing Styles The only way to create a new (that is, different) style is to change one of the existing 24 styles. The procedure described in this section applies whether you are creating a new style or changing an existing one. 104 Videonics PowerScript Removing Styles Tip Although you do not have to select an existing object when creating or changing a style, you’ll find it helpful to do so because you can witness the effects of the changes as you make them. To create or change a style: 1 Optionally, create or select an existing object. 2 Press and hold the Alt key, then enter the function key or function key combination you want to change or assign to the style. For example, to assign a style to function key F10, hold down Alt while pressing F10; to assign a style to function key Shift+F6, hold down the Alt key, press and hold the Shift key, then press the F6 key. Notes About Creating and Changing Styles 3 Use the menus or mouse to select the attribute or attributes to want to set for the style you are creating or changing. (Refer to the following section for more information.) 4 When you finish selecting attributes for the style, press any function key to terminate the process. The mouse cursor disappears for a second or two to let you know PowerScript is recording the style on the PC Card. • Styles do not have to assign every attribute A style can assign some attributes while ignoring others. For example, a style might set the font attribute to Heavenetica but not assign the font’s color, style, or size. When you apply the style to a text object or text characters within an object, the font changes to Heavenetica, but the other attributes do not change. • Every menu option is a separate attribute You can assign one or more attributes within a given menu while leaving the others unchanged. For example, using the FILL menu you can assign the Opacity attribute but leave the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness attributes unchanged. • Be sure to activate menus when appropriate Some menus (such as FILL and OUTLINE) have a check box in the title bar that must be selected in order for the options in the menu to take effect. For example, if you set values in the SHADOW menu but fail to select the check box, the shadow does not appear when you apply the style. • Attributes get assigned only when you complete the style PowerScript does not store the style attributes until you press a function key to signal that you have completed the style. Up to that point, you can change any and all attributes you’ve assigned. For example, suppose you define a dark blue fill color with a black shadow. You then realize that a lighter fill color would be better. Simply go back to the FILL menu and change the color to a lighter shade. Removing Styles You cannot remove a style from the style file. You can, however, set the style to a null value so that when applied, it has no effect. To set a style to a null value: 1 Press and hold the Alt key while entering the function key or function key combination you want to set. 2 Release all keys. 3 Without doing anything else, press one of the function keys to indicate you are finished defining the style. 105 Chapter 6 Using PowerScript WORKING WITH BACKGROUNDS A background can be: • A solid color • An incoming video signal (using PowerScript’s internal keyer) over which you can superimpose a page • A graphic (such as an imported EPS, JPEG, PCX, or GIF graphic file) PowerScript holds the page background in a special background plane. The page you are creating and the one that is playing on the output channel share this plane. Therefore, if you play a title on the Program monitor while simultaneously editing another page on the Preview monitor, the background is not displayed on the Preview monitor while editing. The Preview monitor uses the same color as the background on the Program monitor. If you change the background, PowerScript remembers it, but it won’t appear until the playback stops or the playing page happens to use the same background color. Tip If you want to see the background while creating pages, set your system to Single-Monitor Mode. When you are ready to playback the pages, reset the system to Dual Monitor Mode. See “Video Parameters” on page 123 for instructions. Creating a Solid Color Background To create a solid color background: 1 Click the Bkgnd option on the MAIN MENU to display the BACKGROUND menu, or enter Ctrl+F9. Background On/Off BACKGROUND HUE 33 SATURATION 100 BRIGHTNESS 0 2 Select the Background On/Off option (so that an X appears in the box). 3 Use the Hue, Saturation, and Brightness controls to select the color of background you want. See “Sliders and Text Values” on page 59 for more information. Using a Video Signal as a Background (Using PowerScript’s Internal Keyer) Keying is the process of superimposing titles and graphics over an incoming video signal. PowerScript supports internal and DownStream Keying (DSK). Internal Keyer PowerScript’s internal keyer automatically superimposes titles and graphics on video that comes in through its Video IN jack. To use the internal keyer: 106 1 Connect a video source (such as a VTR) to the Video IN jack on PowerScript’s rear panel. 2 Display the BACKGROUND menu (see above) and deselect the Background Option. This allows the incoming video signal to serve as the background. Videonics PowerScript Using a Graphic as a Background 3 Create a page containing whatever titles and graphics you want to use. 4 Start the video source playing. 5 Play the page (see “Using the Playback Controls” on page 109). During playback, PowerScript sends the combined video background and page titles and graphics through the Video OUT jack. PowerScript anti-aliases the titles and graphics and superimposes them over the video signal. By connecting a VTR to the Video OUT jack, you can record the signal as it travels through that outlet. If you connect a monitor to the Video OUT jack, you can view the superimposed titles over the video signal. Note If you deselect the Background On/Off option and no video signal is present, the page background appears as a solid gray. DSK Some studio setups perform keying in the switcher. Keying occurs after mixing the sources, so it is called downstream keying (or, DSK). DSK requires two signals—the key signal is a monochrome signal with white where title elements are, a black background and shades of gray where there are semi-transparent objects, and anti-aliased edges. The fill signal is the color and pattern signal that fills the titles. The switcher uses the key signal to knock out video and substitute a fill. The fill can come from a color generator (matte generator), an external source, or from the character generator’s fill signal. PowerScript sends a key signal through its KEY OUT jack and a fill signal through the Video OUT jack (both are on the rear panel). DSK does not fully support transitions and animation because these effects are normally performed by the switcher. Using a Graphic as a Background You can use an imported graphic file or simple PostScript objects (rectangle, oval, and so forth) as a page background. To use a graphic as a background: Considerations and Tips 1 Use the CREATE menu to locate and place the graphic object or file you want to use as the background (see “Create Menu” on page 171). 2 Use the graphic’s object handles to adjust the size of the graphic to your requirements. 3 Use the To Back option on the SELECT menu (see page 190), or enter Ctrl+Shift+F to move the graphic to the back-most layer of the page, so that it appears behind all other objects. Using complex graphics as a background can slow down PowerScript’s ability to display the page due to the time required to create the image in memory. One way to work around this is to create all other objects and place and arrange them on the page before placing the graphic background. This lets you work at optimum efficiency when creating the page. Another method is to select the background object and enter Ctrl+Shift+F7 to display only the object’s bounding rectangle. Create the other objects for your page and arrange them as desired. When you finish designing the page, select the background object again and enter Ctrl+Shift+F7 to display the object. During playback, use the pre-rendering option to speed up page display (see “Pre-Rendering Pages” in the next section). 107 Chapter 6 Using PowerScript PLAYING PROJECTS AND PAGES The term playing refers to the act of displaying one or more pages on the Program monitor. You can play single or multiple pages. When playing multiple pages and you have assigned animation and/or transitions to those pages, the effects appear during playback. When playing pages, you can: • Play one page or a series of pages, automatically or manually • Play pages forward or backward, using keyboard keys to play the previous or next page • Rapidly access pages by number (this is useful when you want to quickly choose among pre-defined pages) • Edit one page while playing another—with certain limitations. • Pre-render pages for faster playback. Page Imaging Before playing a page, PowerScript must first create the image of that page in its memory banks. Normally, this takes less than a second. However, complex pages that contain many different objects and/or complex graphics can take longer to image. PowerScript automatically holds the current page on screen until the next page is ready for display. Pre-Rendering Pages PowerScript’s pre-rendering feature is especially useful in live broadcast situations because it allows you to render the next page you need to playback while another page is playing. When you playback the next page (the pre-rendered one), it plays almost instantaneously because PowerScript has already created its image. To pre-render a page: 1 While the current page is playing, and you are operating in Play Mode, not in Edit Mode (see the following section), do any of the following: To pre-render a specific page, enter the number of the page on the keypad, then press the slash (/) key on the keypad. To pre-render the next page in the project, enter plus (+) then slash. To pre-render the previous page in the project, enter minus (-) then slash. PowerScript begins pre-rendering the page immediately. While rendering, the Scroll Lock LED indicator on the keyboard flashes until the rendering operation is complete. 2 When you are ready to playback the pre-rendered page, press Enter. If, while entering a page number you make an error, press asterisk (*) to cancel the entry, then enter the correct number. You must do this before pressing the slash (/) key. Pre-Rendering Restrictions In order to pre-render a page, the page should be: • Set for Infinite Duration (not required, but practical) • Set to use Cut transitions for both the transition IN and transition OUT See “Working with Transitions and Page Duration” on page 96 for details about infinite duration, cut, and fade transitions. 108 Videonics PowerScript Using Play Mode and Edit Mode Using Play Mode and Edit Mode PowerScript offers two different modes—Play mode and Edit mode. • In Play mode, pages appear on the Program monitor, including all transitions and animations. • In Edit mode, you can create and modify pages. The selected page appears on the Preview monitor along with the menus, object handles, and mouse cursor. Because PowerScript has two video memory (VRAM) planes, you can edit one page (in Edit mode) while playing another page (in Play mode). However, animations and transitions (other than a simple cut, roll, or crawl) require both planes, so PowerScript suspends these features when you work in Edit mode. Therefore, you can display a static (or, non-moving) page while editing, then cut to another page. If you use other transition features than those mentioned above, you cannot work in Edit mode while playing another page. Using Single Monitor Mode Normally, you do editing on the Preview monitor and play back the pages on the Program monitor. Menus and the mouse cursor do not normally appear on the Program monitor (the one attached to the PowerScript VIDEO OUT jack). If you have only one monitor available, you can combine Play mode and Edit mode on the same monitor. When you work on the pages (that is, when you are editing), the menus and mouse cursor appear on the Preview monitor and the Program monitor because they are the same device. When you playback a page, it takes over both the Preview and Program monitor, so you cannot do any editing. If you want to operate PowerScript in single-monitor mode, you need to use the SETUP menu to specify the correct Video Parameters. See “Video Parameters” on page 123 for further instructions. Using the Playback Controls Use the keys on the numeric keypad and the Scroll Lock key to control page playback. Numeric Keypad Playback Controls Scroll Lock Num Lock Caps Lock Num Lock 7 Scroll Lock / 8 Home * The LED indicators shown here tell you when the associated key (Num Lock, Scroll Lock, or Caps Lock) is On or Off - 9 Pg Up 4 5 6 1 2 3 End Pg Dn 0 . Ins Del + Enter The Numeric Keypad is located at the far right of the keyboard Use the Scroll Lock key to choose between Play mode and Edit mode. Play mode is active when Scroll Lock is On (that is, the LED indicator is on). Edit mode is active when Scroll Lock is Off. 109 Chapter 6 Using PowerScript The Num Lock key (upper left corner of the keypad) has an effect only when Scroll Lock is Off (that is, when in Edit mode). In this mode, you can use the keypad keys to enter numbers as text—they do not function as playback control keys. When Scroll Lock is On (Play mode), the Num Lock key has no effect. Table 8, Play Mode and Edit Mode Controls, explains how to use the keypad keys to access the project pages in either Play mode or Edit mode. Table 8: Play Mode and Edit Mode Controls To… Use these keys in the indicated sequence… PLAY MODE Play the page that currently appears on the Preview monitor Scroll Lock Enter Turn Scroll Lock ON Press Enter Play any other page Select the page you want in the PROJECT/PAGE menu Scroll Lock Enter Turn Scroll Lock ON Press Enter Play a page by number— page 15 for example 1 Scroll Lock 5 End Enter For example, page 15 Turn Scroll Lock ON Immediately play the current page (without waiting for the page’s set duration and transitions to complete). If the current page’s transition OUT has already begun, pressing Enter cuts to the next page. Enter Enter page number on numeric keypad Press Enter Press Enter Play next page in sequence Play previous page in sequence Pause Playback / Resume Playback 110 + Press + (plus) Key - Press - (minus) Key Press Spacebar Enter Press Enter Enter Press Enter Videonics PowerScript Using the Playback Controls Table 8: Play Mode and Edit Mode Controls (Continued) To… Use these keys in the indicated sequence… EDIT MODE Display current page on Preview monitor Num Lock Scroll Lock Enter Turn Scroll Lock OFF Turn Num Lock OFF Press Enter Display next page for editing Scroll Lock + Enter Turn Scroll Lock OFF Press + (plus) key Display previous page for editing Scroll Lock - Turn Scroll Lock OFF Press (minus) key Press Enter Enter Press Enter Display a specific page for editing—page 15 for example Scroll Lock Num Lock 1 5 End For example, page 15 Turn Scroll Lock OFF Turn Num Lock OFF Enter page number on numeric keypad Enter Press Enter 111 Notes 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions This chapter describes PowerScript functions and procedures you might not use every time you use PowerScript, including: • Working with Hot Borders • Working with the Safe Title Area • Working with GPI, Time Triggers, and Auto-Start • Using PowerScript Setup • Working with Files and Directories • Working with PC Cards • Using Graphic Files • Re-Mapping the PowerScript Keyboard Chapter 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions WORKING WITH HOT BORDERS The Preview screen’s page work area is larger than the visible screen work area. This allows you to place objects outside the visible area, as shown here. Press Ctrl+Shift+G to toggle Hot Borders on and off Visible Screen Work Area Page Work Area By placing objects outside of the visible area, you can roll and crawl them into the visible area during playback. Hot Borders make it possible for you to work beyond the visible area of the screen. You can toggle the hot borders feature on and off by entering Ctrl+Shift+G. When you activate hot borders you can access the non-visible areas of the page work area just by moving the mouse pointer beyond the edges of the Preview screen. In the example shown above, move the pointer to the left edge of the screen, then continue moving it to the left to pan the visible screen work area. The objects on the left side of the page work area come into view and the pointer also remains visible. One way to use this feature is to create a long line of text that crawls across the screen. Create the text object then begin typing the text characters. As you type and the text object grows longer, it eventually becomes wider than the screen. With hot borders turned on, the screen automatically pans to keep the cursor in sight, so you always see the characters as you type. If you want to go back to an earlier part of the text and make a change, deselect the text and move the pointer in the required direction. PowerScript scrolls the screen until you find the portion of text you want. While using hot borders, you might sometimes lose your place on the screen. The following control keys help keep you properly oriented. For additional Navigation control keys, see page 211 or the PowerScript Quick Reference Card. Table 9: Hot Border Page Navigation Control Keys 114 Move To… Keys Bottom Right of Page Alt+Shift+End Center of Page Alt+Home Down One-Half Screen Alt+Down-Arrow Down One Screen Alt+Shift+Down-Arrow Left One-Half Screen Alt+Left-Arrow Videonics PowerScript Working with the Safe Title Area Table 9: Hot Border Page Navigation Control Keys (Continued) Move To… Keys Left One Screen Alt+Shift+Left Arrow Right One-Half Screen Alt+Right-Arrow Right One Screen Alt+Shift+Right Arrow Top Left of Page Alt+Shift+Home Up One-Half Screen Alt+Up-Arrow Up One Screen Alt+Shift+Up-Arrow WORKING WITH THE SAFE TITLE AREA Television screens have a small area around the edges of the screen where you should not place title information because that area can easily become distorted. At your option, PowerScript displays a border showing where it is safe to place titles without distortion. Safe Title Area Press Ctrl+G to display the border around the Safe Title Area Alternately entering Ctrl+G shows and hides the safe area border. The border appears only on the Preview monitor. If you activate the Safe Title Area and Hot Borders at the same time, then scroll outside the screen’s safe title area, the safe title border moves with the screen. Therefore, only a portion of the safe title area border appears on-screen. WORKING WITH GPI, TIME TRIGGERS, AND AUTO-START Using GPI, Time Triggers, and Auto-Start, you can invoke PowerScript projects and other files from external devices or time-based factors. This section explains how to use these features. It also explains how to play a project or display a graphic from a remote location. Using GPI A GPI (General Purpose Interface) external device (such as the Videonics Edit Suite™) can send signals to PowerScript. PowerScript has two GPI input connectors—GPI 1 and GPI 2. A contact closure on either of these inputs can trigger a specific project, or it can trigger the next page in the current project. 115 Chapter 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions To use the GPI connectors: 1 Connect a GPI device to one or both GPI input connectors on PowerScript’s rear panel. COMPONENT IN Y R-Y (U) SERIAL (RS-232) AC INPUT VOLTAGE 100-240 VAC 50-60 Hz COMPONENT OUT B-Y (V) Y GPI-2 IN R-Y (U) B-Y (V) SYNC GPI-1 OUT SC PHASE TERM FINE COARSE VIDEO IN COMPOSITE VIDEO OUT Y/C COMPOSITE Y/C PREVIEW KEY OUT OUT AV RISK OF FIRE REPLACE FUSE AS MARKED PC CARD (PCMCIA) TYPE I, II, III FUSE RATING 1A FOR 120 VAC .5A FOR 220 VAC GPI1 and GPI2 Connectors 2 Display the MAIN MENU, click the Setup option, then click GPI Options to display the SETUP:GPI menu; or enter Ctrl+Shift+F8. SETUP: GPI GPI 1 PROJECT: .PRJ GPI 2 PROJECT: .PRJ GPI 3 PROJECT: PINKFLYD .PRJ GPI Controls = 2/14/97 & REPEAT: 00:00:00 = 08:30 PM (HH:MM:SS) Timed Trigger Controls PROJECT: GPI 4 = & REPEAT: .PRJ = (HH:MM:SS) Note Only the GPI Controls are used to control GPI connections. You’ll read about the Timed Trigger Controls in the subsequent section. To trigger a project through a GPI connection: ¨ Enter the name of the project you want to trigger in the Project text box. Do not include the PRJ file type extension when entering the name. If you are triggering the project through the GPI 1 connector, enter the project name in the corresponding Project text box—likewise, if you are using the GPI 2 connector, use that Project text box. If you are using both GPI connectors, enter the project names in the corresponding Project text boxes. When the GPI signal arrives at the specified GPI connection, PowerScript locates and plays the first page in the project. If PowerScript cannot locate a project with the specified name, it automatically performs a page trigger—which is explained in a later section. 116 Videonics PowerScript Using Time Triggers To trigger a page through a GPI connection: ¨ To trigger a new page of titles (rather than triggering a project) when a signal arrives at a GPI connector, leave the Project text box empty. For example, assume a kiosk is set to display the next page in a pre-defined project when a viewer presses a button. When no one is using the system, you want the pages to display at a pre-determined rate. To accomplish this, set up the pages with a duration of 15 seconds per page (or whatever suits you) and play the project. Each page plays for 15 seconds unless a viewer presses the button, in which case the pages change immediately. Using Time Triggers January Use time triggers to trigger events at pre-arranged times. Use the GPI 3 and GPI 4 options in the SETUP:GPI menu to create time triggers. Note that PowerScript does not have physical GPI 3 and GPI 4 connectors. GPI 3 and GPI 4 are internal triggers, triggered by time. GPI 3 and GPI 4 events work the same as GPI 1 and GPI 2 except that you trigger events at a specified time rather than by a signal from an external GPI device. To create a timed trigger: 1 To trigger a specific project, enter the project name in the Project text box. Do not enter the PRJ file type extension. To trigger the next page of the current project (rather than triggering a specific project), leave the Project text box empty. 2 Enter the Date and Time you want the GPI event to occur in the designated text boxes. Enter the date in the format MM/DD/YY. All values must be two digits. For example, enter 05/09/97 for May 9, 1997. Enter the time in the format hh:mm:ss AM/PM. All values must be two digits. For example, enter 05:35:30 PM for 5:35 and 30 seconds in the afternoon. 3 To repeat the event at specified time intervals, enter the time interval in the Repeat text box. The event begins on the specified date and time, then repeats endlessly at the specified time interval. Enter the time interval in the format hh:mm:ss. All values must be two digits. For example, if you enter 01:30:00 the event automatically re-triggers every hour and a half. To remove a time trigger event: ¨ Clear the Date, Time, and Project Name fields. 117 Chapter 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions Using Auto-Start With auto-start you can program PowerScript to play a specific project whenever the unit powers on. This feature is especially useful in remote applications to allow a specific project to resume play following a power failure. To use auto-start: 1 Create the project that you want to play automatically. 2 Save the project file on a PC Card and name it STARTUP. When PowerScript powers on, it looks for a project with the name STARTUP and, if found, immediately plays that project. Make sure the PC Card containing the auto-start project is inserted in a PowerScript PC Card slot. Note If a project that you attempt to start crashes, PowerScript automatically create a project named CRASHED.PRJ on the same PC Card as the problem project. This allows PowerScript to restart normally because it does not attempt to run the damaged project. If this occurs, try to open the original, damaged project to see if you can delete the page or pages that caused the crash. If you aren’t able to access the original project, you might be able to recover the pages from the CRASHED.PRJ project. Playing a Project from a Remote Location If you are working at a remote location, you can instruct PowerScript to play a project by transferring a file to one of PowerScript’s PC Cards. The project file must already reside on the target PC Card. By transferring a special play file to the PC Card, PowerScript knows which project you want to play. To use this feature you must have an existing connection between your remote location and PowerScript. You then use a file transfer program (such as Fetch) to send the file from a computer to PowerScript. See Chapter 8, PowerScript Computer Connections, for more information on this topic. To play a project from a remote location: 1 Create the project or projects you want to play, store them on a PC Card, and insert the PC Card in one of the PowerScript PC Card slots. 2 From your remote location, create a PLA file with the same name as the project you want to play. For example, assume the project file you want to play is named CARTOONS. You would need to create a file named CARTOONS.PLA to send from your remote location. See “Creating a PLA File” below. 3 Creating a PLA File 118 Transfer the CARTOONS.PLA file to either PowerScript PC Card, in any directory. To create a PLA-type file, use any text editor or word processing application on your computer. The PLA file does not need to contain any information—you can include information, but doing so unnecessarily consumes space on the PC Card. When saving the file, give it the same name as the project you want to play (such as CARTOONS in the preceding example) and, very important, give it the PLA file type extension, such as CARTOONS.PLA. Videonics PowerScript Displaying a Graphic from a Remote Location Note If a project does not exist on the PC Card with a corresponding name for the PLA file, PowerScript normally displays an error message on the Preview monitor. The error message reads, “A request to play a project (filename.PRJ) failed.” You can clear the message by clicking the Continue button. In rare cases, the error message appears on all outputs but the cursor is not available, preventing you from clicking Continue. In this situation, enter Ctrl+Alt+Delete to restart PowerScript. Other Issues About PLA Files Immediately upon receiving the PLA file, PowerScript searches all PC Cards to find a project file with a matching name. If it finds such a file, it begins playing it immediately. If it does not find such a file, PowerScript displays an error message (see note above). As mentioned, PowerScript begins playing a project as soon as it receives a matching PLAtype file. If a PLA-type file already exists with the name of the file you are sending, PowerScript replaces the original file with the new file without performing any checks. You can use this to re-invoke playback whenever you want it to occur. Therefore, you can use an FTP application (such as Fetch) to put the file to PowerScript without bothering to determine if there is already a file by that name. The put command overwrites the existing file and the project begins playing immediately. To delete a PLA-type file from PowerScript without playing it (using Fetch), send an rm (remove) command with the file name—such as rm CARTOONS.PLA. You can use a wildcard character (*) to delete all PLA files—such as rm *.pla. Displaying a Graphic from a Remote Location You can create a graphic file at your remote location, then transfer it to PowerScript for immediate display. The primary difference between this procedure and playing a project from a remote location (as described above) is that you do not need a PowerScript device at your remote location to create the graphic. You can create the graphic on a desktop computer (using a software application such as Adobe Illustrator), then send it for immediate display. Here again, to use this feature you must have a connection between your remote location and PowerScript. To display a graphic from a remote location: 1 Create the graphic on your desktop computer. 2 Save the graphic file with the name AUTO followed by the appropriate file type extension—for example, AUTO.EPS or AUTO.APS. If your graphic file needs to have transparent areas (to allow video to share the screen), save it as an APS type file. See “Creating Transparency Channels” on page 142 for more information. 3 Use an FTP application (such as Fetch) or PowerScript Communicator to transfer the file from your remote desktop computer to PowerScript. The same rules and conditions apply when transferring a graphic file as when transferring a project file (as described in the preceding section). PowerScript displays the file in the center of the screen with no scaling. If you want to scale the image, do so before transferring it. To control the position of the image, create a screen-sized rectangle (that is, 640x480 pixels for NTSC, 864x576 pixels for PAL) and position the graphic within the rectangle. You cannot use transitions with this procedure. 119 Chapter 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions POWERSCRIPT SETUP PowerScript’s Setup functions let you control many different aspects of the way the unit operates. PowerScript comes from the factory with default setup settings. With the exception of the date and time settings, you’ll find the default settings adequate for most equipment configurations. This section contains instructions for changing the defaults if and when necessary. Use the SETUP menu to access the setup functions. To display the SETUP menu, click the Setup option on the MAIN MENU, or press Ctrl+Shift+F12 (there is no Power menu version of the SETUP menu or its associated menus). SETUP Menu SETUP GPI START Time & Date Setup See page 121 GPI Options See page 115 Display Parameters See page 122 Video Parameters See page 123 Serial (RS-232) Setup See page 149 Internet Settings See page 147 PC Card Maintenance See page 130 File Maintenance See page 126 Click the option on the SETUP menu that you want to examine or change. The illustration above indicates the page where you can find detailed information about the specific setup options. 120 Videonics PowerScript Time & Date Setup Time & Date Setup January Use the Time & Date Setup option to set the current time and date and specify the format you want used for clock objects. Regardless of which format you choose for date and time formats, you must always enter time and date information in the standard PowerScript format, as described later in this section. Click the Time & Date Setup option in the SETUP menu to display the SETUP: DATE & TIME menu. SETUP: DATE & TIME Menu SETUP: DATE & TIME Time Setup ON ENTER CURRENT TIME: 08:35 AM SHOW SECONDS 12/24 HOUR, AM/PM NOON/MIDNIGHT 2:35:05 14:35:05 12:00/24:00 2:35 2:35:05 00:00 2:35:05 PM Date Setup ENTER CURRENT DATE: Sat Feb 8, 1997 DAY OF WEEK Friday Fri NONE DATE FORMAT January 20, 1996 Jan. 20, 1996 1/20/96 20/1/96 96/1/20 NONE DATE SEPARATOR . / - Time Setup—Deselect this option to display only the date in clock objects. Select the option to display both the time and date. Enter Current Time—Click inside the text box and enter the current time. Use the time format you specify in the format options just below the text box. For example, if you specify 12 Hour notation, enter the time as 09:41:34 PM—if you specify 24 Hour notation, specify the time as 21:41:34. You must always enter a zero for times before 10:00—such as 09:41:34 PM. The clock starts when you press Enter or click outside the text box. To synchronize the clock to a reference, wait until the reference time reaches the exact moment, then press Enter. Show Seconds—Select the first option to display seconds in clock objects. Select the second option to omit seconds from clock objects. 12/24 Hour, AM/PM—Select the first option to display clock objects in 24 Hour notation. Select the second option to display objects in 12 Hour notation without an AM or PM indicator. Select the third option to display objects in 12 Hour notation with an AM or PM indicator. 121 Chapter 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions Noon/Midnight—Select the first option to display noon and midnight as 12:00 (or 24:00 if you are using 24 Hour notation) or as 00:00. Enter Current Date—Enter today’s date in the format MM/DD/YY. Day of Week—Select the format in which you want to display day names in clock objects. Select NONE if you do not want day names to appear. Date Format—Select the format in which you want to format dates in clock objects. Select NONE if you do not want the date to appear. Select a Date Separator character. GPI Options GPI options provide a way to automatically play a project when PowerScript detects a GPI (General Purpose Interface) signal. See “Working with GPI, Time Triggers, and AutoStart” on page 115 for instructions. Display Parameters Display Parameters control arrangement and use of your display monitor or monitors. When you click the Display Parameters option in the SETUP menu, the SETUP:DISPLAY menu appears. SETUP: DISPLAY Menu SETUP: DISPLAY 100% (NORMAL) Monitors 1 2 75% AUTO Video EPS Color Adjustment Displays SETUP VIDEO menu. See page 123. Monitors—Indicate whether you have 2 monitors in your equipment configuration (that is, separate Preview and Program monitors), or you have only 1 monitor (the same monitor acts as both the Preview and Program monitors). EPS Color Adjustment—When you import an EPS graphic file from a computer, the colors might be overly saturated due to differences in the color ranges supported on computers as compared to video. Your choice here determines how EPS colors appear for all graphic files in the EPS directory—not just the file you have selected. 122 • 100% (NORMAL)—The colors in the EPS file remain unchanged, based on the full red, green, and blue values. • 75%—Adjusts colors to 75% of their original values, thereby reducing saturation to permissible video values. Whites appear dimmed, so while other colors appear more natural, whites might appear as shades of gray. • AUTO—PowerScript makes separate adjustments to each color in the EPS file. Colors get reduced 75% to keep them permissible for video, but gray and white values are not adjusted so as to retain the full brightness of white highlights. Videonics PowerScript Video Parameters Video Parameters Video Parameters specify several different aspects about the way your video equipment operates. When you click the Video Parameters option in the SETUP menu, the SETUP: VIDEO menu appears (you can also display this menu by clicking the VIDEO button in the SETUP:DISPLAY menu, shown above). SETUP: VIDEO Menu SETUP: VIDEO VIDEO IN SYNC IN INTERNAL Sync Source 0 IRE Black Level 7.5 IRE ADVANCED SETTINGS... Caution—see below Available only if you have the PowerScript Studio model (see following section) STUDIO MODEL SETTINGS Sync—You can set PowerScript to sync in any of three ways: • VIDEO IN—PowerScript generates titles and graphics synchronized to the video input. This allows you to superimpose titles on the video. The output’s sync matches that of the input. The incoming video signal must have good, clean sync. • SYNC IN—Synchronizes the sync (reference) input. • INTERNAL—Synchronizes to PowerScript’s internally generated source. The output does not match the input sync. Use the INTERNAL setting unless you need external sync and can insure clean and legal external sync. When using an external Sync, connect your reference sync signal to PowerScript’s SYNC IN connector on the rear panel. If you have other devices sharing the same sync line, connect PowerScript’s SYNC OUT connector (also on the rear panel) to the sync input of the next device in the chain. The last device in the chain must be terminated by a 75ohm load. If PowerScript is the last device in the chain, set the TERM switch on PowerScript’s rear panel to the 75 W position. If the load is supplied by another device, set the TERM switch to the NONE position. COMPONENT IN Y SERIAL (RS-232) AC INPUT VOLTAGE 100-240 VAC 50-60 Hz R-Y (U) COMPONENT OUT B-Y (V) Y GPI-2 IN R-Y (U) B-Y (V) SYNC GPI-1 OUT SC PHASE TERM FINE COARSE VIDEO IN COMPOSITE VIDEO OUT Y/C COMPOSITE Y/C PREVIEW KEY OUT OUT AV RISK OF FIRE REPLACE FUSE AS MARKED PC CARD (PCMCIA) TYPE I, II, III FUSE RATING 1A FOR 120 VAC .5A FOR 220 VAC SYNC IN SYNC OUT TERM Switch Black Level—Specify which standard you want to use for black level output. 123 Chapter 7 Advanced Settings Advanced PowerScript Functions • 0 IRE—Use this setting when you need to match PowerScript’s output to equipment that puts out 0 IRE black. Some equipment, especially consumer-level, puts out a lower black level at 0 IRE. • 7.5 IRE—Use this setting to have PowerScript output blacks at the broadcast standard of 7.5 IRE. If you ever have occasion to contact Videonics Technical Support for assistance, you might be asked to access the Advanced Settings. WARNING! Never make changes to the Advanced Setting unless specifically asked to do so by Videonics Technical Support. Studio Model Settings To access this menu, click the Studio Model Settings button in the SETUP VIDEO menu (described above). SETUP: STUDIO Menu SETUP: STUDIO OUT SYNC HORIZONTAL PHASE OUT vs. SYNC (pixels) OUT KEY COMB FILTER IN KEY DELAY (0-63 pixels) ON COMPOSITE & Y/C OFF COMPONENT COMPONENT IN LEVELS BETACAM MII COMPONENT OUT LEVELS BETACAM MII These options are available only if you have the PowerScript Studio Component model (PS-4000SC) Out Sync/Horizontal Phase—If you are using PowerScript’s sync function and your output signals lose synchronization, enter a value in the Horizontal Phase text box to adjust the timing and restore synchronization. Out Key/Key Delay—This option is similar to the one above except that it can be used to adjust the signal phase being output through PowerScript’s Key OUT connector. 124 Videonics PowerScript Serial (RS-232) Setup Comb Filter—Activates (ON) or deactivates (OFF) PowerScript’s Comb Filter. Normally, this option should be ON. However, if the input video comes from a non-synchronized tape source (such as a consumer VCR or camcorder) and sync quality is substandard, minor horizontal bands of false color might appear. Turning OFF the Comb Filter might improve quality. Otherwise, the Comb Filter should always be turned ON. IN—Specify whether you are using PowerScript’s Composite and Y/C connectors, or you are using the Component connector on the Studio Component model. Component In Levels—Select BETACAM if you are using a SONY Betacam input device, or select MII if you are using a Panasonic device. Component Out Levels—Same as above except the settings apply to your output devices. Serial (RS-232) Setup Use the Serial (RS-232) Setup options when you create a connection between PowerScript and a computer platform using a serial cable. See “Serial Cable Connection” on page 149 for details. Internet Settings Use the Internet Settings option when you connect PowerScript to an Ethernet network. See Chapter 8, PowerScript Computer Connections, for further information. PC Card Maintenance The PC Card Maintenance option provides a way to create a PowerScript Start Card and/or erase a PC Card. See the following section for more information. 125 Chapter 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions WORKING WITH FILES AND DIRECTORIES Files are used to store projects, pages, fonts, graphic files, and system software. Files are organized into separate directories. For example, all graphic files (EPS, APS, PCX, JPG, and GIF) are stored in a directory named EPS on the original PowerScript Start Card. Files can also be stored in sub-directories, which are directories within other directories. For this discussion we’ll refer to sub-directories simply as directories. PowerScript manages most of your files and directories, so you don’t have to be too concerned about them. However, there might be times when you need to manage your files and directories without PowerScript’s assistance. For example, you might need to create a new directory on one of your PC Cards, or lock some files so they can’t be changed. PowerScript gives you these options and several others for working with files and directories. Before discussing how you can work with files and directories, take a moment to make sure you understand the types of files you use with PowerScript. It’s worth mentioning at this point that the only types of files you can create with PowerScript are Project and Page files. Project Directories Page Files Project directories contain information about projects—more specifically, the pages contained within the project. Project names have the extension PRJ. For example, TRAVEL.PRJ contains the project that appears in the PROJECT/PAGE menu under the name TRAVEL. Page files contain the pages for a project. They reside inside their associated project directory and have file names based on their page numbers. Page numbers have the format nnnnn.nnn, but the decimal point is not included in the file name. For example, page number 15.25 has the actual page number 00015.025, and the associated file name is 00015025. System Files System files contain the code that allows PowerScript to operate as an intelligent device. The original PowerScript Start Card contains the necessary system files. If you create other Start Cards (see page 131), they must also contain the system files. System files reside in the STARTUP.SYS and INITS directories on PC Cards. Menu Files Menu files contain the information required to display the PowerScript menus. Menu files must always be available when PowerScript is running. Menu files are stored in the MENUS directory and have file type extensions of BUT and YV. Graphic Files Font Files Auto-Start Files All graphic files reside in the EPS directory. Graphic files can have a file type extension of EPS, PCX, JPG, GIF, or APS (see “Creating Transparency Channels” on page 142 for information about APS files). Font file names have the file type extension PFB and they reside in the FONT directory. PowerScript has built-in fonts that reside in ROM (Read Only Memory), not in a directory of a PC Card. You cannot remove these ROM-resident fonts. When you display the FONTS menu, the ROM-resident fonts are preceded by the letter R. Auto-Start files use special file names and/or file type extensions to cause PowerScript to automatically run the file. You can transfer auto-start files to PowerScript via a computer connection or network, or you can create auto-start files that PowerScript invokes at a specified time or in response to a signal. Create a project and name it STARTUP.PRJ. When you power on PowerScript, it looks for a project with that name and, if found, starts that project running immediately. If you place the project on a PC Card, that card must be inserted during startup. 126 Videonics PowerScript Managing Files and Directories You can create a text file, set the file type extension to PLA, then transfer it to a PC Card over a computer connection using an FTP application (see Chapter 8, PowerScript Computer Connections). When PowerScript receives a PLA-type file, it looks for a project with a matching name and, if found, starts that project running immediately. This is useful when you don’t want to change the file type extension of the project file so that you can easily access it from the PROJECT/PAGE menu. For example, suppose you have a project named MOONSHOT.PRJ that you want to start automatically. Simply create a text file and name it MOONSHOT.PLA. Whenever PowerScript sees a file named MOONSHOT.PLA on the PC Card, it automatically plays the project named MOONSHOT.PRJ. You can still access and edit the original MOONSHOT.PRJ project. Note PLA-type files do not play automatically during PowerScript startup. For additional ways to use these types of files, see “Working with GPI, Time Triggers, and Auto-Start” beginning on page 115. Managing Files and Directories The FILES menu provides a way to manage PC Cards—more specifically, to manage the directories and files contained on those cards. You can access the FILES menu as follows. • Enter Ctrl+Shift+F12. • Click the Directories & Files button in the SETUP: PC CARD MAINTENANCE menu (see page 187). • Click the File Maintenance button in the SETUP menu (see page 182). Controls for managing PC Cards and directories appear on the left side of the menu—file management options on the right side. Click to move back (or, up) one level in the directory structure. Indicates that this item is locked. FILES PC Card Information A: (FRONT) PC CARD 3179 KB USED 947 FILES B: (BACK) NAME) KB AVAILABLE DIRECTORY: Current Directory A:\EPS L NAME [..] Available Directories NEW COPY Directory Options SIZE AUTO.EPS ARROW1.EPS ARROW2.EPS ARROW3.EPS ARROW4.EPS BOX1.APS BOX2.APS CHECK1.EPS CHECK2.EPS CIRCLE1.APS CIRCLE2.APS CIRCLE3.EPS CIRCLE4.EPS LOCK/ UNLOCK 2476 TOTAL KB: 3739 3524 3668 3988 4024 6199 6558 2574 2664 10246 11408 7512 6663 COPY LOCK/ UNLOCK RENAME DELETE Available Files File Options XYZZY XYZZY RENAME DELETE Directory Management File Management 127 Chapter 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions PC Card Information Select the PC Card you want information about. Select A:(Front) for the card in the PowerScript front slot, or select B:(Back) for the card in the rear slot. Only one of the options is available if only one slot contains a PC Card. KB Used—Indicates, in kilobytes, the space used on the selected PC Card. Note One kilobyte (KB) equals 1,024 characters. KB Available—Indicates the number of kilobytes unused and available on the selected PC Card. Directory Information and Options Current Directory—Displays the name (that is, the path) for the directory currently selected in the Available Directories list. Available Directories—Lists all directories on the selected PC Card. When you select a directory in this list, the path for that directory appears in the Current Directory text box. Selecting any directory in the list takes you “down” one level in the hierarchy. To move back “up” one level, click the [. .] item in the directory list. CAUTION When you click an item in this list, PowerScript does not highlight that item in the list. The only way to determine which directory is selected is to look at the Current Directory text box. When you click one of the Directory Options (see below), PowerScript performs that action on the directory shown in the Current Directory text box. Directory Names Managing Directories When creating or renaming directories, you must use the standard DOS naming conventions. Directory names can contain up to 8 characters, but avoid using special characters. See your DOS manual for specific details. To create a new directory: 1 Select the PC Card on which you want to create the directory, A:(Front) or B:(Back). 2 Click New to display this menu. NEW DIRECTORY NEW DIRECTORY NAME NEW 3 Enter a name for the directory in the New Directory Name text box, then click New. To copy a directory and all of its contents: 128 1 Select the PC Card, A:(Front) or B:(Back), that contains the directory you want to copy. 2 Select the directory you want to copy, then click Copy. A menu appears for you to enter the name for the duplicate directory. 3 Select the card where you want to store the duplicate directory—A:(FRONT) or B:(BACK). 4 Enter a name for the copy in the New Name text box, then click Copy. Videonics PowerScript File Information and Options To rename an existing directory: 1 Select the PC Card, A:(Front) or B:(Back), that contains the directory you want to rename. 2 Select the directory you want to rename, then click Rename. A menu appears for you to enter the new name for the directory. 3 Enter a name for the directory in the New Name text box, then click Rename. To lock or unlock a directory: 1 Select the PC Card, A:(Front) or B:(Back), that contains the directory you want to lock or unlock. The letter “L” appears to the left of any directory name that is currently locked. If the “L” is not present, the directory is not currently lock. 2 Select the directory you want to lock or unlock, then click Lock/Unlock. This toggles the “L” next to the name and also toggles the directory’s lock state. To delete a directory: WARNING! Never delete any data from a PC card without first making a backup of the data you intend to delete. Once deleted, there is virtually no way to recover the data unless you have a backup. 1 Select the PC Card, A:(Front) or B:(Back), that contains the directory you want to remove. 2 Select the directory you want to remove, then click Delete. A Warning appears telling you that the action you are about to perform is permanent. 3 If you want to delete the directory, click Delete—otherwise, click Cancel. File Information and Options Available Files—When you select a directory in the Available Directories list (see above), this list shows the Name and Size of each file in that directory. The indicated size is in kilobytes (1,024 characters). When you use one of the File Options (see below), PowerScript performs the action on the selected file. Unlike the Available Directories list PowerScript does highlight the name of the selected file in this list. Copying, renaming, locking, unlocking, and deleting files involves the same basic procedures as when doing these functions with directories (as explained in the preceding section). Follow the instructions for copying, renaming, locking, unlocking, and deleting files as for working with directories—just be sure to use the appropriate buttons in the File Management section of the FILES menu rather than those in the Directory Management section. Note When you display a locked page on the screen, PowerScript changes the cursor to a red padlock. This lets you know you can examine the page, but you cannot change it. 129 Chapter 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions WORKING WITH PC CARDS You use PC Cards with PowerScript to store important information—such as the system files required to operate PowerScript, projects and pages you create with PowerScript, graphic files used with projects, and so forth. PC Cards are removable media. You physically insert a PC Card or cards into PowerScript’s PC Card slots when you want to access the information stored on the card or cards. PowerScript has two PC Card slots—one on the front panel, and one on the rear panel. The two slots are identical—however, they have separate slot indicators so that you can tell them apart. The front panel slot is A: — the rear slot is B:. PC Cards (sometimes called PCMCIA cards) are standard peripheral and memory cards often used with laptop computers. They can contain Random Access Memory (RAM), Ethernet connections, modems, and other similar devices. They can also be empty. PC Cards are classified as Type I (thinnest), Type II, and Type III (thickest). You can use any of these types in either PC Card slot. However, the combined voltage requirements of the two cards must not exceed 1.5 Amps. The PowerScript package contains one PC Card with a 4 MB capacity. You might need to purchase additional PC Cards to have on hand for storing projects, backup files, and other data. Note Normally, you can purchase PC Cards from stores that sell laptop computers. U.S. and Canadian customers who have difficulty locating PC Cards can contact Videonics Helpline for assistance (see page 2). PowerScript supports Atmel and ATA-format (such as IDE and Sandisk) PC Cards. Either the front or rear PC Card slot can be used for any supported card format. Contact Videonics or check our Web site (see page 2) for the latest compatibility information. Start Cards The PC Card included with PowerScript is a Start Card—which means it contains the files necessary to start PowerScript. These types of files are called system files. Without them, you cannot start PowerScript. Therefore, we recommend you have at least one other Start Card available in the event that the original card is damaged or otherwise inaccessible. Specifically, the original Start Card contains the following: 130 • System Files These files contain the program code that PowerScript needs to start up. They must always be present on the Start Card you use when starting PowerScript. • Menu Files These files contain the information PowerScript uses to draw the Standard and Power menus on the screen. The menu files must always be present on the Start Card. • Font Files These are the files that PowerScript uses to draw text characters and symbols on the screen. In addition to the font files contained on the Start Card, PowerScript also has fonts stored in its Read Only Memory (ROM). Your Start Card does not have to contain any font files if you want to settle for using only those fonts in ROM. Videonics PowerScript Write Protect Feature Creating a Start Card • Sample Graphic Files An assortment of graphic files that you can use in pages. None of these files are required. • Sample and Demo Projects An assortment of projects designed to show some of the ways you can use PowerScript. None of these files are required. PC Cards have a Write Protect Tab that prevents you or anyone else from writing information on the card. Slide the small tab (or, button) found on one end of the card in a specific direction to activate or deactivate the write protect feature. Write Protect Tab Normally, you won’t find it necessary to write-protect a card unless you are concerned about its security. If you are using only one PC Card, do not write-protect it or you won’t be able to save files. Creating a Start Card As mentioned previously, you might want to have at least one additional Start Card. Creating a Start Card is an easy procedure. However, before you can create a new Start Card, you must already have one available because PowerScript copies files from the existing card to create the new one. Note Before starting the following procedure, make sure you have a PC card that has already been formatted. See the following section, “Erasing and Formatting PC Cards”, for instructions. To create a Start Card: 1 Insert a Start Card in one of the PowerScript PC Card slots, then insert the new card in the other slot. 2 From the MAIN MENU, click the Setup option, or press Ctrl+F6. 3 When the SETUP menu appears, click the PC Card Maintenance option to display the SETUP: PC CARD menu. SETUP: PC CARD Menu SETUP: PC CARD START PC Card Maintenance A: (FRONT) B: (BACK) ! • SYSTEM • MENUS START CREATE START CARD DIRECTORIES & FILES ERASE FILES DANGER: ERASES CARD! FORMAT & ERASE CARD PROJECTS & PAGES 131 Chapter 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions 4 If you inserted the new card in the front PC Card slot, select the A: (FRONT) option— otherwise, select the B: (BACK) option. 5 Click the Create Start Card button. PowerScript copies system, menu, graphics, and font files from the original PC Card to the new card. PowerScript ignores any other files that either card might already contain. CAUTION If the new Start Card already contains system, menu, graphics, or font files, PowerScript replaces them with the ones from the original card. PowerScript does not perform any checks to prevent you from replacing older versions of the files. Erasing and Formatting PC Cards PowerScript gives you the ability to erase the contents of a PC Card or format the card. These function permanently removes all data from the card. WARNING! You cannot recover information from a PC Card once you erase or format it. The differences between erasing and formatting a card are subtle, but significant. Erase Files—Removes everything from the PC Card except those files marked as ReadOnly. By default, all system files on a PowerScript start card are marked as Read-Only. Therefore, after using the Erase Files option, the PC Card is still a PowerScript start card because it contains all of the system files necessary to start PowerScript. Note You can set the Read-Only attribute (either on or off) using the Lock/Unlock options in the FILES menu. A locked file is considered Read-Only. See “Working with Files and Directories” on page 126 for more details. Format & Erase Card—Removes every file (regardless of its locked/unlocked state) from the PC Card. This option is useful if you cannot read or write to a PC Card—which is an indication that the card’s file system is damaged. To erase or format a PC Card: 1 Insert the card you want to work with in the secondary PC Card slot—that is, if you start PowerScript from the card in slot A, insert the card you want to erase and format in slot B, and vice versa. 2 From the MAIN MENU, click the Setup option, or press Ctrl+Shift+F12. 3 When the SETUP menu appears, click the PC Card Maintenance option to display the SETUP: PC CARD menu (illustrated earlier in this section). 4 If you inserted the card you want to erase in the front PC Card slot, select the A: (FRONT) option—otherwise, select the B: (BACK) option. Note PowerScript will not allow you to erase the Start Card you used when starting up. 5 Click the Erase Files or Format & Erase Card button. Make sure you understand the differences between the two options, as described above. A warning appears so that you can confirm that you really want to erase or format the PC Card. 6 132 After erasing and formatting the card, remove it from the slot, then reinsert it. PowerScript cannot recognize the card until you do this. Videonics PowerScript Using PC Cards Using PC Cards You can use different configurations of PC Cards depending on your needs and resources. However, keep the following rules in mind: • You must insert a Start Card into one of the PC Card slots when first powering on the unit. The Start Card must contain, minimally, all of the necessary system files and menu files. See “Start Cards” on page 130 for a list of necessary files. • If you insert a Start Card in both the front and rear PC Card slots, PowerScript always uses the card in the front slot during startup. • You must, at all times, have a PC Card containing the menu files inserted in one of the PC Card slots. The remainder of this section describes some PC Card configurations that you might find useful. Start Card Only If you want to use only one card, it must contain the necessary system and menu files. Normally, you use the original PowerScript Start Card. The original Start Card, however, has limited space for storing additional files (such as projects and pages). You can delete any files you don’t need from the original Start Card—such as fonts, graphic files, and the sample and demo projects. If you use this configuration, set the Write Protect Tab on the card to the Off position so that you can write on the card. There is an obvious element of risk involved in this configuration if you don’t have a backup copy of the Start Card. Using a Second Card One possibility is to always leave the original Start Card in one of the slots. Insert a second card in the remaining slot and store projects, pages, and other files you want to use on the second card. The second card does not have to contain system or menu files because they are available on the Start Card in the other slot. With this configuration it is good practice to set the Write Protect Tab on the Start Card to the On position so that you don’t accidentally overwrite or delete files. However, if you intend to store data on the card, you must set the Write Protect Tab to the Off position. Furthermore, if you intend to store fonts or EPS graphic files on the card, you must create the required directory or directories for the files. See “Managing Directories” on page 128. Using a Peripheral Card If you want to use one of your PC Card slots to hold a peripheral card (such as an Ethernet adapter or a modem), you’ll have only one slot available to hold the required Start Card files (system and menu files) and your projects and other files. The most efficient way to adapt this configuration is to purchase a high-capacity PC Card (such as 8 MB or more). You can make this into a Start Card (as explained in an earlier section) and still have adequate storage capacity for projects. With this type of configuration, set the Write Protect tab on the original Start Card to the On position and store the card elsewhere as a backup. Set the Write Protect tab on the new card to the Off position because you’ll need to store files there as you work on them. Note If you are using an Ethernet adapter with PowerScript, you must insert the PowerScript Start Card in the front slot and the Ethernet adapter in the rear slot—otherwise, PowerScript will not start. For more information regarding the use of Ethernet adapters, see Chapter 8, PowerScript Computer Connections. 133 Chapter 7 Maximizing Your Resources Advanced PowerScript Functions If you have a computer available that you can connect to PowerScript, this provides you with maximum use of your resources. This is because the connection gives you the ability to store data on the computer rather than on PC Cards. For example, once you complete a project, you probably want to keep a copy of it for future use. Rather than storing the project files on a PC Card, move them to the hard disk on your computer, then remove the files from the PC Card. One reason you’ll find this type of configuration very advantageous is that the cost per megabyte (MB) of storage on a computer-based hard disk is substantially less than comparable storage on a PC Card. Tip To create as much available space as possible on a PC Card, delete any files you don’t use or need. Some candidates for deletion might include fonts you don’t use (in the FONTS directory), graphic files you don’t use or need (in the EPS directory), and PowerScript Help files. See “Working with Files and Directories” on page 126 for further instructions. Modifying PC Cards with a Computer If you have a computer available that accepts Atmel or ATA-format (such as IDE or Sandisk) PC Cards, you can use it for PC Card maintenance. You can, for example, save files to a hard disk, rename files, import files, and so forth. You can also modify PowerScript files using an external computer that is connected via a network. See Chapter 8, PowerScript Computer Connections, for additional information and instructions. USING GRAPHIC FILES You can use EPS, PCX, JPEG, and GIF type graphics with PowerScript. A wide variety of software applications (including Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop, and many others) are available for creating and managing these types of files. About File Type Extensions When creating files on a Macintosh computer, you do not normally use file type extensions as you do with DOS- and many Windows-type files. When creating files for use with PowerScript however, you must use file type extensions so that PowerScript can identify file types. Whenever you create any type of graphic file on a Macintosh or Windows system, use the file type extensions shown in the following table and briefly described in the following sections. Table 10: Acceptable File Type Extensions for Graphic Files 134 File Type Extension Type of File EPS Encapsulated PostScript files. APS A special file format used only by PowerScript. It is a version of Encapsulated PostScript with a transparency channel. (See “Creating Transparency Channels” on page 142) Videonics PowerScript About File Type Extensions Table 10: Acceptable File Type Extensions for Graphic Files (Continued) File Type Extension EPS File Types Type of File JPG Joint Photographic Experts Group—A special form of image compression adopted by the JPEG group GIF Graphic Interchange Format. A common graphic file format used for Internet graphics. PCX Common file type used by Windows and DOS applications for saving files containing bit-mapped image data. Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) graphic files contain PostScript code. You can use most EPS graphic files with PowerScript. The files can contain objects (such as rectangles, lines, and paths), or they can contain bit-mapped images. You might be familiar with EPS files that you can output to a color laser printer. PowerScript works in a similar manner except that instead of outputting to a printer, it sends the output to a television monitor. Unlike a printer, however, PowerScript can work with transparent objects and it works at video speed—which means it can display EPS graphics within a fraction of a second. EPS files are the only supported graphic format than can contain objects, which are especially efficient for large graphics because they paint one object at a time rather than a pixel at a time. Another advantage is that EPS objects do not have a background—so oddly-shaped objects (such as a star) can be drawn and overlap other items already on a page. Most bit-mapped formats, by contrast, always reside within an opaque rectangular shape. When creating EPS images, be sure to read “Creating Efficient Graphic Files for Use with PowerScript” later in this section to learn how to create efficient graphics. The same EPS graphic can range in size from as little as 5K to as much as 200K, depending on how you construct and save it. PowerScript EPS supports most PostScript Level 2 specifications, including clipping paths and JPEG. Clipping paths allow a bit-mapped image to be cut out (that is, to render defined portions transparent). JPEG allows the bit-mapped contents to be highly compressed while still retaining good image quality. PowerScript also supports APS files, which use the CMYA color model. APS is a Videonics innovation that allows for the inclusion of a transparency (alpha) channel in the image. See “Creating Transparency Channels” on page 142 for more information. JPEG File Types JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) files are compressed bit-mapped images. This format is especially good for still photos and complex artwork, including scanned images. A chief advantage of JPEG is its high compression factor, and the fact that you can choose the level of compression you want, trading file size for image quality. JPEG is widely supported on the Internet World Wide Web. It is commonly supported by most graphic software applications. 135 Chapter 7 GIF File Types Advanced PowerScript Functions GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) is another file format widely used on the Internet World Wide Web. This format is best used for simple graphics created by illustration programs. GIF compresses areas of flat color quite well. The format supports only 256 colors, so it is not particularly suited for photographic images or complex graphics that use a high degree of shading and color variations. PowerScript supports interlacing of GIF images, but does not support transparency. When you require transparency, use the EPS file format and clipping paths, or CMYA channels. PCX File Types PCX is a file format commonly supported by several different Windows and DOS paint-type applications. PowerScript-Provided Graphics PowerScript comes with an assortment of graphic files provided by Videonics (see page 203). You can find these files on the original PowerScript Start Card. You can remove the files from the Start Card if you ever decide you don’t need them any longer. WARNING! If you remove a graphic file from the original Start Card there is no way to get that graphic back again. If you think you might want to use the graphic at some later date, place a copy of the file on another PC Card or on a computer-based hard disk. To do this procedure you must have a connection between PowerScript and another computer. See Chapter 8, PowerScript Computer Connections, for instructions. About Other Graphics You can use graphic files from many different sources, such as existing clip art collections, the Internet, or your own archives. You can also create custom graphics if you have the necessary tools (this section discusses tools and techniques for creating graphics). You can convert other graphic file formats to the formats supported by PowerScript if you have the necessary tools. Some conversion tools are available at our Videonics Web site. See Table 1, Contacting Videonics, on page 2 for the location of this site. Note Software applications can create graphic files that neither PowerScript nor any other device can process and display. In most cases, if you can output the file to a printer, PowerScript can also process it. Large, highly-complex graphic files take extra time to process—both by PowerScript and by laser printers. Although PowerScript operates significantly faster than a printer, such delays might not be acceptable in a video production environment. 136 Videonics PowerScript Creating Efficient Graphic Files for Use with PowerScript Creating Efficient Graphic Files for Use with PowerScript This section contains suggestions for creating graphic files that work efficiently with PowerScript. Preview Images EPS files often contain a preview image—a bit-mapped version of the file. Desktop publishing applications use the preview image to show an on-screen representation of the file. PowerScript does not use preview images. When you have the option, do not save a preview image when saving EPS files because it increases file size and display time. Working with Gradients and Blends Recognize, first of all, that gradients and blends are not the same thing in vector-based applications—even though they might produce the same results. Check your application documentation to learn about the differences between these two concepts. Drawing applications normally produce gradients and blends by creating multiple copies of an object with varying colors or other attributes. You normally specify the number of copies of the object you want by indicating the number of “steps.” For video production, you do not need as many steps as you might need in print production because video operates at lower resolution. The fewer the steps, the smaller the file and the less time required to display the image. For video production work it is best to use blends rather than gradients because with blends you can control the number of steps (or objects) in the image. Most blends need only 6 to 12 steps as compared with the 30 to 100 needed for print images. When creating blends, use fewer steps than you think you might need and check the results. You can always go back and add more steps if needed. Note Anti-aliasing effectively smooths the edge of each step in a blend, further reducing the number of steps required. File Formats Some EPS drawing programs (such as Macromedia FreeHand and Adobe Illustrator) permit you to save files in older, often simpler formats. When saving EPS files, always attempt to use the simplest possible format. Some EPS files can contain unnecessary elements, such as hidden objects, complicated patterns, and clipping paths. The presence of such elements can significantly increase the size of the file without affecting the way it is imaged. Try to eliminate any such elements from EPS graphic files that you create. In Macromedia FreeHand, the simplest format is “Generic EPS.” In Adobe Illustrator, formats created by the earlier versions of the application tend to be simpler. For example, a file saved in the Illustrator 88 format is typically simpler than one saved in the Illustrator 6.0 or later formats. However, the earlier formats do not provide all of the features that you might want to use. The only way to determine with certainty whether or not a given format provides all of the features you want to use is to experiment. In all cases, you should save the file in the application’s native format as well as in the earlier format you plan to export to PowerScript. This ensures that you can retain all features throughout your experimentation until you find the best format for your work. 137 Chapter 7 Types of Graphic Files Advanced PowerScript Functions Graphic files can be either of the following types: • Bit-mapped (pixel-based, or paint) images consist of individual dots, or screen pixels. You can create these types of files using paint and image processing programs, such as Adobe Photoshop. • Vector-based (draw-type, or object-based) images consist of lines, shapes, arcs, and paths. You can create these types of files with illustration and drawing programs such as Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, Macromedia FreeHand, and others. Keep the following guidelines in mind: Adobe Photoshop Considerations • When creating files that consist of a dozen or fewer objects, it is usually best to create these as vector-based files. • Images larger than 200 x 300 pixels should normally be vector-based images. • Images smaller than 100 x 100 pixels are best done as bit-mapped images, unless they are relatively simple (that is, contain only a couple of objects). • For bit-mapped images with few colors or significant flat areas, save them in the GIF format. • For bit-mapped images with many colors, gradations, or patterns, JPEG is normally the most efficient format. • When you require transparency, use the EPS or APS format. If you are working with Adobe Photoshop: • Work in RGB mode. If a file is not RGB mode, convert it before saving. • Save the file as a “Photoshop EPS.” • Do not include a preview of the image. • Use JPEG-Low Quality encoding when the option is available. The JPEG-Low Quality setting greatly compresses the file at some loss in image quality. It is unlikely you will notice much difference on your monitor. If you are not satisfied with the quality, save the file at a higher JPEG setting. Working with Bit-Mapped EPS • Turn off DCS, if the option is available. • Do not include a clipping path, halftone screen, or transfer functions. • It is very important to downsample the image to 72-dpi at the desired size before saving to reduce file size. Remember that the video screen contains only 720 x 485 pixels (NTSC) or 720 x 576 pixels (PAL). In order to make bit-mapped EPS files work efficiently, keep their size and resolution as small as possible. For example, a 30x50 pixel image at a 72 dpi (dots per inch) resolution processes very quickly. A full-screen image at the same resolution can take considerably longer to process and display. The image’s complexity ultimately determines its processing speed. For example, suppose you have a 300 dpi image that measures 4x5 inches. Such an image contains approximately 2 million pixels! A standard video monitor has less than 400,000 pixels available. If you import the image into PowerScript and then scale it to fit the screen, the image might look satisfactory, but processing time would be lengthy and wasteful because you are forcing PowerScript to process more pixels than the screen can actually display. 138 Videonics PowerScript Creating Efficient Graphic Files for Use with PowerScript Most image processing applications (such as Adobe Photoshop) give you the ability to resample an image to a different size and resolution. For best results, resample bit-mapped EPS images to 72 dpi and keep them a reasonable size. For example, starting with the image file mentioned above (300 dpi at 4x5 inches), you want to create an image that occupies a corner of the screen. You want it to appear 25 scan lines high. You should resize the image to 25hx31w pixels at 72 dpi. This reduces the image from almost 2 million pixels to 56,000—a file size that PowerScript can process efficiently. Another factor to consider with bit-mapped EPS images is the square pixel effect. See “The Square Pixel Factor” later in this section for further information. Working with Vector-Based EPS When you work with vector-based EPS files, file size is not as important a consideration as with bit-mapped images. The determining factor with vector-based images is the number and types of objects it contains. The greater the number of objects and the greater their complexity, the longer it takes PowerScript to process the image. Image elements that significantly increase the time required to process vector-based images include clipping paths, gradients, compound paths, numerous small objects, paths with unnecessary points, and placed bit-map images. The number of points on a path is a significant factor. Auto-traced images often contain many more points than might be necessary to successfully render the image. Furthermore, many clip art files contain paths with extemporaneous points due to the way they are created. Overlapping Objects When creating vector-based EPS images, overlap objects slightly rather than butting their edges against one another. Because PowerScript anti-aliases objects during processing, this provides good results. Anti-aliasing blends information from neighboring pixels into the object edges to produce soft transitions between them. This can result in a background video image bleeding through the graphic where two objects butt against one another. Overlapping objects by one or two pixels normally prevents unwanted backgrounds from showing through. More About Anti-Aliasing PowerScript automatically anti-aliases objects (including text) that it generates, but it does not anti-alias imported, pixel-based graphics. You can anti-alias bit-mapped files before importing them using various applications—such as Adobe Photoshop and other utility programs. Some of these tools reduce the image size while anti-aliasing, so you might want to create the image larger than its final size, then anti-alias and reduce the size before importing the file into PowerScript. Converting Vectors to Bit-Maps When you want to use a fairly complex vector-based graphic, you might want to convert it to a bit-mapped image so that it displays more quickly. Converting from vector-based to bit-mapped is known as rasterizing an image. For example, suppose you have a complex vector-based graphic containing gradients, clipping paths, and so forth, that you want to display in a smaller size. By rasterizing the image, the smaller, bit-mapped version displays much more quickly. Some computer applications, such as Adobe Photoshop, can rasterize images directly simply by opening them. Other utility programs can also accomplish the conversion. Yet another alternative is to use a screen capture utility program. Display the vector-based image on-screen, adjust it to the desired dimensions, then capture the image with the utility program—which automatically converts it to a bit-mapped image. 139 Chapter 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions Using Text in EPS Graphics To use a vector-based EPS graphic containing text, the font files used to create the text must be available to PowerScript on an inserted PC Card or as a ROM-resident font. PowerScript comes with 35 different PostScript fonts. You can add other PostScript fonts to PowerScript. (See Appendix A, PowerScript Fonts, for a list of the PowerScript PostScript fonts and instruction for importing font files.) Some of the PowerScript fonts also have aliases that automatically substitute a specific font for one that might not be available. For example, if an EPS file uses the Helvetica font, PowerScript automatically substitutes its own Heavenetica font. If an EPS graphic contains PostScript fonts that are not available to PowerScript, you can: • Load the font into PowerScript (see “Importing Fonts” on page 196); or • Convert the text-elements in the file to paths. Many illustration programs provide this function as a built-in feature by converting each letter to a complex shape. When you use this method, you do not have to load the PostScript font into PowerScript and no substitution takes place. However, you can no longer easily edit the text, and the complex shapes might take longer to process and display than the text objects. Tip If an EPS file contains only a few text objects, converting them to outlines might be the best solution. However, if the file contains a high volume of text (such as rolling production credits), the best solution might be to import the PostScript fonts to PowerScript. None of the preceding situations apply to bit-mapped images containing text because the text is no longer in the form of characters. Within the bit-mapped image, the text characters no longer exist, so the font information is not needed. The Square Pixel Factor Most computer applications work with square pixels. Therefore, a rectangle that is 10 pixels high by 10 pixels wide looks like a perfect square. Digital video, however, uses nonsquare pixels—so the 10x10 square is slightly taller than it is wide. The following table shows the relative resolutions for NTSC and PAL systems. Table 11: Square Pixel Factors for NTSC and PAL Systems NTSC Non-square video screen pixels 720 x 485 Square pixels 640 x 480 PAL Non-square video screen pixels 720 x 576 Square pixels 768 x 576 PowerScript takes this distortion into account when it processes an image. For NTSC systems, PowerScript applies a 10% horizontal stretch to EPS graphics. Therefore, when creating EPS images simply create them as you normally would and PowerScript automatically makes the necessary adjustments. 140 Videonics PowerScript Transparency Bit-mapped graphics work differently. When PowerScript stretches a bit-mapped graphic some degradation might occur because the pixels no longer align correctly. In many cases, this is not noticeable. However, if image proportions are critical, design bit-mapped images to be 10% wider than normal. When you place the image on a PowerScript page, select the object, open the MODIFY menu (see “Changing Object Orientation” on page 74), then change the horizontal scale factor from 110% to 100% for an NTSC system. Transparency Bit-mapped images normally occupy a rectangle on the screen, and the rectangle has its own background color. The rectangle can obscure any object or objects behind it. Objectbased (or, vector) graphics can be made to have a transparent background so that when superimposed atop other objects, the objects behind can show through. Bit-Mapped Image The two stars are a bit-mapped image, so they have a rectangular background with its own color (white, in this case). The while fill of the background rectangle obscures the bands that lie on a layer behind (or, below) the bit map. Object-Based Graphic The two stars are object-based graphics with a transparent background. The bands that lie on the layer behind (or, below) the objects can be seen through the transparent background. If you want to create a non-rectangular bit-mapped image, you can use either of the following methods: • Use a clipping path in an EPS graphic. A clipping path is a shape that cuts away the background so just the inside of the path is drawn and rest of the area is transparent. Adobe Photoshop and similar bit-mapped graphic applications can create paths and place them in EPS files. • Define an Alpha (transparency) mask and encode it in an APS graphic using a format called CMYA (as explained in the following section). Note The GIF file format has a transparency option available, but it is not supported by PowerScript. 141 Chapter 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions Creating Transparency Channels The PostScript page description language does not support transparency, but it is commonly used in video. PowerScript supports transparency by extending the PostScript functionality for any graphics and text it creates. PowerScript supports transparency in imported EPS graphics using a proprietary technology called CMYA. To use this advanced technology you must prepare EPS graphics in such a way that transparency information gets stored in the K channel of a CMYK EPS graphic. EPS supports a variety of color models. RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) is commonly used for on-screen work. CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and blacK) is commonly used in four-color process printing. Because cyan+magenta+yellow=black, the black channel in a CMYK color model is redundant. It is required in printed material because inks never mix to a perfect black. When a CMYK graphic appears on-screen, the K (black) channel is not needed. PowerScript’s CMYA technology takes advantage of this by reassigning the K channel so that it can be used for transparency (called an alpha channel). Because CMYA is not an industry-standard format, you need to prepare your graphics to use the transparency channel. Using Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia FreeHand When preparing CMYA files with Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia FreeHand (or most other vector-based drawing applications), use custom colors that do not contain any black. To darken an image, use additional cyan, magenta, and yellow rather than using black. Thereafter, apply only those colors in the K channel to the objects to create the transparency mask. The more black you use, the greater the transparency. Using Adobe Photoshop Two different methods are available for creating CMYA files in Adobe Photoshop. Each produces a slightly different color balance. Use the first method if you are starting out with a CMYK file—use the second if you are starting from an RGB image. (The following procedures were prepared based on Adobe Photoshop version 4.0. There is little difference when using version 3.0 or later.) To prepare the file based on the CMYK color model: 1 Convert the file to RGB mode—that is, display the Mode menu, point to the Mode submenu item, then select RGB. 2 Display the File menu, point to the Color Settings sub-menu item, then choose Separation Setup. 3 When the dialog box appears, set the Black Generation option to None. 4 If necessary, adjust the image colors. 5 Display the Channels palette and select the K channel. Note that the K channel is empty. 142 6 Paint black (or shades of gray) in the K channel where you want the image to be transparent. Full black (100%) makes that part of the image completely transparent. A gray shade of 50% makes that part of the image 50% opaque/transparent. 7 Save the image with an APS extension, such as BASEBALL.APS. Also be sure to observe all of the recommendations under “Adobe Photoshop Considerations” on page 138. Videonics PowerScript Creating Transparency Channels To prepare the file based on the RGB color model: 1 If necessary, convert the file to RGB mode—that is, display the Mode menu, point to the Mode sub-menu item, then select RGB. 2 In the Channels palette, create a new, empty channel. Use the palette pop-up menu to select New Channel. 3 Display the Image menu, point to the Mode sub-menu item, then choose Multi-Channel. 4 Convert the image to CMYK mode—that is, display the Mode menu, point to the Mode sub-menu item, then select CMYK. 5 If necessary, adjust the image colors. 6 Display the Channels palette and select the K channel. Note that the K channel is empty. 7 Paint black (or shades of gray) in the K channel where you want the image to be transparent. Full black (100%) makes that part of the image completely transparent. A gray shade of 50% makes that part of the image 50% opaque/transparent. 8 Save the image with an APS extension, such as BASEBALL.APS. Also be sure to observe all of the recommendations under “Adobe Photoshop Considerations” on page 138. 143 Chapter 7 Advanced PowerScript Functions REMAPPING THE KEYBOARD The characters that result from typing certain keys on the PowerScript keyboard can vary from one country to another. For example, typing the backslash key on a United States keyboard produces the \ character—typing the same key on a German keyboard produces the # character—typing the key on a French Canadian keyboard produces the < character. To accommodate these differences, PowerScript gives you the ability to “remap” your keyboard to any of the following common keyboard layouts. Table 12: Keyboard Remapping Functions Layout Number Country Control Keys 01 Standard US Keyboard Shift+Control+1 (Default Layout) 02 Belgian Shift+Control+2 03 British Shift+Control+3 04 Canadian Multilingual Shift+Control+4 05 Danish Shift+Control+5 06 Dutch Shift+Control+6 07 Finnish Shift+Control+7 08 French Shift+Control+8 09 French Canadian Shift+Control+9 10 German Shift+Control+Alt+0 11 Icelandic Shift+Control+Alt+1 12 Irish Shift+Control+Alt+2 13 Italian Shift+Control+Alt+3 14 Latin American Shift+Control+Alt+4 15 Norwegian Shift+Control+Alt+5 16 Portuguese Shift+Control+Alt+6 17 Portuguese, Brazilian ABNT2 Shift+Control+Alt+7 18 Spanish Shift+Control+Alt+8 19 Swedish Shift+Control+Alt+9 You can remap your keyboard to any of the preceding layouts either temporarily or permanently. A temporary assignment lasts only until you restart PowerScript—a permanent assignment uses the specified layout whenever you run PowerScript. 144 Videonics PowerScript Remapping the Keyboard To assign a TEMPORARY keyboard mapping layout: ¨ Enter the Control Key combination (shown in the preceding table) for the keyboard layout you want to use. A permanent assignment uses the specified layout whenever you run PowerScript. To make this type of assignment you need to make a copy of the keyboard layout you want to use, then rename the copy KEYMAP00 (00 = zeros). To assign a PERMANENT keyboard mapping layout: 1 Open the FILES menu (see “Managing Files and Directories” on page 127 to learn how to open the menu). 2 Use the Directory Management controls to locate and select the directory named STARTUP.SYS. You’ll find the key mapping files (named KEYMAP01 through KEYMAP19, and, perhaps, one named KEYMAP00) in this directory. The two digits at the end of the file names correspond to the layout numbers in the preceding table. For example, the British keyboard layout is named KEYMAP03. 3 Locate and select the key mapping file you want to use as your permanent layout. 4 Click the Copy button in the FILES menu to duplicate the layout. 5 When the COPY menu appears, name the duplicate file KEYMAP00. If your STARTUP.SYS directory already contains a file named KEYMAP00, you can replace that file with the one you are creating. CAUTION Always duplicate the original key mapping file and do not simply rename it. If you only rename a file, you run the risk of losing the original key mapping file—which means you no longer can use that file. 6 Restart PowerScript. 145 Notes 8 PowerScript Computer Connections This chapter contains instructions for connecting PowerScript to a computer platform and for performing the various functions you can do with such a configuration. When you create a connection between PowerScript and a computer, you have the potential ability to transfer files, connect to the Internet (via modem or Ethernet), apply security where a password is required to access PowerScript over an Ethernet connection, and so forth. Although PowerScript provides the internal connections required to establish communications with a computer, it does not include the tools required to create files and control connections. For example, to create graphic files of your own design, you need tools (such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, CorelDRAW, or Macromedia Freehand) to create the files. In order to move those files from a computer to PowerScript, you need communications software—such as TCP/IP software or an FTP client. With PowerScript you can create two types of files ONLY—projects and pages. To create any other type of file (such as a PLA-, EPS-, APS-, PCX-, JPG-, or GIF-type file), you must do so on a computer platform. Creating the file is half the task—once created, you must transfer the file or files to a PowerScript PC Card. This chapter explains how to make that transfer using various types of connections between PowerScript and a computer. Chapter 8 PowerScript Computer Connections ABOUT PROTOCOLS PowerScript supports industry standard protocols—that is, the language computers use to talk to one another. If you currently use a computer to access the Internet or some other network (such as Ethernet), you might already have everything you need to create a successful connection between PowerScript and the computer. If you do not already have such a computer connection, we recommend you consult with someone who can provide you with the assistance you need. Are we using the same protocol? Yep…We’re speaking the same language. In a computer network or online environment, two or more computers must use the same protocol (or, language) to successfully communicate. By supporting industry standard protocols, PowerScript makes it possible to use off-theshelf tools and existing networks. PowerScript supports these computer platforms: Macintosh Windows 3.1 Windows 95 Windows NT MS-DOS Amiga UNIX CLIENT/SERVER ARCHITECTURE Many modern computing systems use a client/server architecture in which one system, the client, has control of the environment. The other system, the server, can make files available to the client and can receive files. Servers cannot originate file transfers. I’m the CLIENT. I initiate all file transfers and other activities. I’m the SERVER. I won’t do anything until I receive your instructions. In a client/server environment, the client computer initiates all file transfers and other operations. The server computer exists only to serve the needs of the client. A system can consist of many different clients and servers. Each client (with the proper security clearance) can access any server. PowerScript always acts in the role of an FTP server in the context discussed in this chapter. PowerScript supports hardware protocols for RS-232 and Ethernet (with an optional PC Card Ethernet adapter). PowerScript supports TCP/IP, FTP, and PPP protocols—where it acts in the role of a server. 148 Videonics PowerScript “Sneaker Net” Connection “SNEAKER NET” CONNECTION Although not technically a connection in the strict sense of the term, the simplest configuration between PowerScript and a computer platform is where the computer is capable of reading from and writing to a PC Card (the same type of card used by PowerScript). Some laptop computers contain PC Card drives. This type of connection is called sneaker net because in order to get files from the laptop computer to PowerScript, the PC Card must be physically carried from one device to the other—running back and forth on your sneakers, or tennis shoes. In this type of environment, you can create files on a laptop computer, then store them on a PC Card mounted on the computer. Once finished, you remove the PC Card from the computer, carry it to PowerScript, then insert it in one of the PowerScript PC Card slots. You can then access the files on the PC Card just as you would any other files on any PC Card. Likewise, you can take any PowerScript PC Card, carry it over to your computer, mount the card, then access any of the files on that card. You can download Atmel drivers for Windows from the Videonics Web site (see page 2). PowerScript reads ATA and Atmel format PC Cards. The card shipped with PowerScript is Atmel formatted. SERIAL CABLE CONNECTION If your sole purpose is to move files back and forth between PowerScript and your computer platform (and your computer is not capable of reading and writing PC Cards), you can establish a serial cable connection. In order to make this type of connection, you need to obtain a serial cable (if you don’t already have one). One end of the cable connects to the RS-232 connector on the PowerScript rear panel. The other end of the cable connects to one of the serial ports on your computer platform. The cable required for this connection is called a null modem cable with an RS-232 to DB-9 connector. The connector required at the other end of the cable depends on what type of connector is available on your computer platform. The computer connector (or, port) should always be a Serial-type. Check your computer documentation to see what type of connector you need. This is a DB-9 connector with an RS-232 wiring scheme. This end of the cable connects to the SERIAL (RS-232) jack on the PowerScript rear panel. COMPONENT IN Y SERIAL (RS-232) AC INPUT VOLTAGE 100-240 VAC 50-60 Hz R-Y (U) COMPONENT OUT B-Y (V) Y GPI-2 IN R-Y (U) B-Y (V) SYNC GPI-1 OUT SC PHASE TERM FINE COARSE VIDEO IN COMPOSITE VIDEO OUT Y/C COMPOSITE Y/C PREVIEW KEY OUT OUT AV RISK OF FIRE REPLACE FUSE AS MARKED PC CARD (PCMCIA) TYPE I, II, III FUSE RATING 1A FOR 120 VAC .5A FOR 220 VAC 149 Chapter 8 PowerScript Computer Connections Computer Software The computer to which you want to attach PowerScript must be equipped with PPP software. If you are currently accessing the Internet via a serial interface or modem, you might already have the required software. If you do not currently have an Internet or network connection, you must obtain the software by some other means. Some software (such as FreePPP) is available as shareware over the Internet—all you need to do is find someone with an Internet account. The software is also available through User Groups and other on-line services. In addition, you need a browser application (such as Netscape Navigator) or FTP client software (such as Fetch) that is capable of Internet protocols. See “Using PowerScript with Macintosh Fetch” later in this chapter for additional information. Ethernet PC Card Compatibility Videonics has conducted numerous tests to determine which Ethernet adapters are compatible with PowerScript. Normally, if the Ethernet adapter packaging indicates that the card is NE2000-compatible, it should work with PowerScript. We have tested the following cards and have determined that they are compatible. The specifications, however, are subject to change. • Linksys model EC2T • ActionTec Ethernet Adapter (part number NE10000-01) • EFA PCMCIA Ethernet NE2000 Combo (part number EFA207, model name InfoExpress SPC) Note If the PC Card packaging indicates that the card is Novell Netware-compatible, but it does not specifically state NE2000-compatible, it is probably not compatible with PowerScript. POWERSCRIPT/MACINTOSH/FREEPPP CONFIGURATION This section explains how to configure a Macintosh computer using FreePPP software to connect to a PowerScript. To set up a Windows-based computer in a similar fashion, see “Connecting PowerScript with IBM-Compatible Computers” on page 158. Once you install the necessary cable and the required computer software, you must configure PowerScript to operate over the connection. Begin by setting up the required IP (Internet Provider) addresses. You must configure PowerScript to use the same settings as your PPP software. Normally, the settings are: Baud Rate (or Speed) ....... 19.2K Parity ............................... None Stop Bits .......................... 1 Data Bits Receive.............. 8 Data Bits Send.................. 8 Check your settings before assuming the above are correct. These settings affect only the RS-232 connector on the PowerScript rear panel—they do not affect the mouse connector, even though the connectors look similar (one is male, the other female). 150 Videonics PowerScript Configuring PPP Configuring PPP The following procedures explain how to configure your settings using the Macintoshbased FreePPP software component. If you are using other configuration software (such as Config PPP), the settings should be the same, but you enter them in a slightly different way. Refer to your software documentation for specific instructions. To enter configuration information using FreePPP (version 2.6.2.): 1 Quit all applications and restart your computer. 2 Open FreePPP. Note These instructions use FreePPP version 2.6.2. If you are using a different version, your screen might look different, but the controls should be the same. 3 Click the Accounts tab, then click New to create a new configuration for PowerScript. Accounts Tab 151 Chapter 8 PowerScript Computer Connections 4 Enter or select the following information in the New Account panel. Account Name: Connect: User name: Password: PowerScript Directly (Optional, see below) (Optional, see below) If you elect to enter a User name and/or Password, check with your System Administrator to determine exactly what you need to enter in these text boxes. 5 Click the Options tab to display this panel. PowerScript IP Address 6 Enter 192.168.0.2 in the IP Address text box and select the option as shown above. This IP address (that is, 192.168.0.2) is a fixed address in PowerScript. Do not use any other address. You cannot change the address in PowerScript. There is no need to enter or change the information in the Domain name, Primary DNS, and Secondary DNS text boxes. Leave the Configure OT TCP/IP for this Account option deselected. 7 152 Click OK. FreePPP normally displays a message asking if you’re sure you do not want to enter a telephone number for this address. The telephone number is not required. Videonics PowerScript Configuring the PowerScript Serial Connection 8 When you return to the FreePPP Setup window, click the Modems tab, then click New to enter the final configuration data. Modems Tab 9 Enter information into the FreePPP Modem Configuration panel to match the one shown above. Even though you aren’t using a modem for the connection, this information is required for PowerScript to create the serial connection. When you finish entering the information, click OK. 10 Quit the FreePPP application. Configuring the PowerScript Serial Connection The final step to configuring a serial connection is to use the PowerScript Setup function to specify the correct baud rate, parity, and so forth. To configure PowerScript over a serial connection: 1 After starting PowerScript, display the MAIN MENU and click the Setup option, or enter Ctrl+F6. 153 Chapter 8 PowerScript Computer Connections 2 When the SETUP menu appears, click the Serial (RS-232) Setup option to display this menu. SETUP: SERIAL Menu SETUP: SERIAL Serial (RS-232) Setup BAUD RATE PARITY STOP BITS DATA BITS: RECEIVE DATA BITS: SEND 3 4800 NO 1 5 5 9600 ODD 1-1/2 6 6 7 7 19.2 EVEN 2 8 8 Select the Baud Rate, Parity, Stop Bits, Data Bits (Receive), and Data Bits (Send) options to match the settings in your PPP software. The Baud Rate setting you specify here must match the Port Speed you select in the FreePPP Modem Configuration panel (shown on page 153). 4 Close the SETUP: SERIAL and SETUP menus to remove them from your screen. Establishing a Connection With all of the necessary configuration steps complete, you can now establish the connection between PowerScript and the computer. Note If you have not completed the configuration steps outlined in the previous sections, you must do so before successfully establishing the connection. To establish the connection: 154 1 Open the FreePPP software component. 2 Select the configuration you created in the earlier steps from the Connect to list. If you named the connection “PowerScript,” that is the one you should select. 3 Select the Modem Configuration you created earlier from the Using list. Here again, if you named the configuration “PowerScript,” that is the one you should select. Videonics PowerScript Using PowerScript with Macintosh Fetch 4 Click Connect to establish the connection. There is normally a slight delay while your computer establishes the connection with PowerScript. 5 Once the connection is established, you can close the FreePPP component, or leave it open, as you prefer. Assuming that you were able to successfully establish the connection, you’re now ready to begin transferring files (or do other tasks) between PowerScript and your computer. See the following section, “Using PowerScript with Macintosh Fetch” for further instructions. USING POWERSCRIPT WITH MACINTOSH FETCH Once you successfully establish a connection between PowerScript and a Macintosh computer or a network, one way is to transfer files back and forth between the devices using an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) application, such as Fetch. This section explains how to use Fetch with PowerScript. Note If you are using a Windows-based computer, you might prefer to use the PowerScript Communicator software application for transferring files. When you run Fetch on the computer platform, it acts just like any other client machine. That is, you can use standard commands (such as get and put) to transfer files. However, keep the following points in mind: • PowerScript is the server, and the computer platform is the client. The client controls everything that occurs between the devices. That is, you cannot initiate or control a file transfer from PowerScript—you must control it from the computer. • When you log in to the PowerScript server, it always defaults to using the front PC Card slot—identified as slot A:. • You can use the standard DOS command CD (Change Directory) to specify the PC Card slot you want to use. For example, to specify the rear slot you can enter CD B:, and press Return: to re-specify the front slot, enter CD A:, then press Return. • You can specify a path name (or, directory) on a PC Card using the standard DOS slash (/) or backslash (\) characters. For example, suppose you want to transfer a file named AUTO.PLA to the KIOSK directory on the card inserted in the PowerScript rear slot. You could do so by entering the following command on the client computer: PUT B:/KIOSK/AUTO.PLA AUTO.PLA • When logging on to the PowerScript server, you do not need to enter a LogIn name. The password is used only if you entered one in the FTP Password text box in the SETUP:INTERNET menu (see “Internet Settings” on page 125). • PowerScript is not case-sensitive. That is, you can enter information without regard to upper or lower case. Entering BUBBA, Bubba, bubba, BuBBa, or any other variation is all the same to PowerScript. • When entering a URL (Uniform Resource Locator), you can place a slash following a drive identification. Here is a generic example: ftp://name:[email protected]/B:/KIOSK/ Refer to your Fetch documentation for additional information. 155 Chapter 8 PowerScript Computer Connections Running the Fetch Application To run Fetch: 1 Locate the Fetch application on your desktop, then open it. The following instructions refer to Fetch version 3.0.3. If you are using a different version of the application, the basic procedures should be the same. 2 Once Fetch starts, the New Connection dialog box appears. You will most likely see other information in the text boxes than shown here. 3 Select the text in the Host text box, then enter the address shown above—that is, 192.168.0.2. 4 If any of the other text boxes contain information, select the text and delete it. 5 Click OK. The following Fetch dialog box appears. There is normally a slight delay before you see the list of directory entries. You might want to create a shortcut for the PowerScript connection at this time. The shortcut provides an easy way to make the connection without having to enter the Host address each time. Once you create the shortcut, you need only select it from the Shortcuts list to make the connection. See “Creating a Fetch Shortcut to PowerScript” later in this chapter for instructions. 6 Use the Put File and Get file buttons to transfer files between PowerScript and your computer. Use Get File when you want to transfer a file from PowerScript to your computer. 156 Videonics PowerScript Creating a Fetch Shortcut to PowerScript Use Put File when you want to transfer a file from your computer to PowerScript. Creating a Fetch Shortcut to PowerScript To create a Fetch shortcut: 1 Display the Customize menu and choose New Shortcut. When the Bookmark Editor dialog box appears, enter a name for your shortcut (such as PowerScript) and enter 192.168.0.2 in the Host text box. 2 Click OK to save the shortcut. When making any subsequent connections with PowerScript, choose the shortcut you just created from the Shortcuts menu in the New Connection dialog box. After choosing the shortcut, Fetch inserts the proper address in the Host text box. Click OK to establish the connection with PowerScript. 157 Chapter 8 PowerScript Computer Connections CONNECTING POWERSCRIPT WITH IBM-COMPATIBLE COMPUTERS You can connect PowerScript with an IBM-compatible computer in two ways. Each requires that you have an Ethernet adapter card installed in PowerScript and a network card installed in the computer. • The first possible configuration is within a network environment where PowerScript acts as a server connected to a LAN (Local Area Network). • The other possibility is a direct connection where a network cable is connected directly from the IBM-compatible to PowerScript. LAN Configuration You can connect PowerScript to your network and have your Network Administrator assign a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address to PowerScript. The IP Address makes it possible to identify PowerScript as part of the network. To configure PowerScript for a Local Area Network: 1 Obtain an Internet Protocol (IP) number from your Network Administrator to assign to PowerScript. 2 Start PowerScript, display the MAIN MENU (Ctrl+Right-click), then click the Setup option. 3 When the SETUP menu appears, click the Internet Settings option to display the SETUP INTERNET menu. Ctrl+Shift+F12 SETUP Time & Date Setup GPI GPI Options Display Parameters Video Parameters Serial (RS-232) Setup Internet Settings START PC Card Maintenance SETUP: INTERNET Internet Settings File Maintenance IP Address: 199.100.012.5 Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0 Router/Gateway Address: 149.040.800.2 FTP Password: 4 Enter the Internet Protocol (IP) number you obtained from your Network Administrator in the IP Address text box. Enter the number exactly as it was provided to you, including the periods between the four sets of numbers. For this particular configuration, you do not need to enter the Subnet Mask or Router/ Gateway Address information. If these text boxes contain any information, select the text and press the Backspace key to delete the information. The FTP Password is optional. Once again, check with your Network Administrator to determine whether or not you need a password. 158 Videonics PowerScript LAN Configuration 5 If your Ethernet adapter card is already installed in PowerScript and is also connected to your network, skip ahead to the next step. Otherwise: a. Turn off the power to PowerScript. b. Insert the Ethernet adapter card in the PC Card slot on PowerScript’s rear panel. c. Connect the Ethernet adapter card to your network connection. 6 Turn off the power to PowerScript (if not already turned off), then turn it back on again. This re-cycling is necessary for PowerScript to recognize your changes and detect the Ethernet adapter card. You will complete the remaining steps at your computer workstation. The first few steps assume you are running either Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 on your workstation. If you are working from the DOS prompt, you can skip the first step. To set up your workstation: 1 If you are running Windows 95, display the Start menu and choose MS-DOS Prompt from the Programs sub-menu. The MS-DOS window appears with the C:\WINDOWS> command line prompt. If you are running Windows NT 4.0, display the Start menu and choose Command Prompt from the Program sub-menu. The MS-DOS window appears with the C:\> command line prompt. 2 At the command line prompt, enter “ftp IP#” (omit the quote marks) where IP# is the IP Address you entered in the SETUP INTERNET IP Address text box (shown above)—for example, you might enter ftp 192.168.0.2, then press Return. 3 The following message lines appear: Connected to 220 VIDEONICS POWERSCRIPT FTP SERVER. READY FOR COMMAND. User () 4 Press Return on your computer keyboard. 5 PowerScript responds with this message: 331 User name okay, need password. Password: 6 If you entered a password in the SETUP INTERNET FTP Password text box, enter that same password in response to the message, then press Return—otherwise, just press Return without entering anything else. 7 PowerScript responds with the following message: 230 User logged in, proceed. ftp> At this point, you have successfully established a connection between PowerScript and your computer. You can conduct file transfers using any of the standard FTP commands. For an example, see “Transferring a File to PowerScript from a Computer” on page 162. 159 Chapter 8 PowerScript Computer Connections Direct Connection Configuration In order to use the Direct Connection Configuration with Windows 95, you need a modified RJ-45 cable that has been rewired accordingly. If necessary, contact your Network Administrator or any qualified technician to wire the cable as follows. RJ-45 Wiring Diagram Wire 1 Wire 3 Wire 2 Wire 6 Wire 3 Wire 1 Wire 6 Wire 2 Before connecting PowerScript with a direct cable, you need to determine the IP Address currently assigned to your computer. To determine your computer’s IP Address: 160 1 While running Windows 95, display the Start menu and choose Control Panels from the Settings sub-menu. 2 When the Control Panels window appears, locate and open (that is, double-click) the Network icon. The Network dialog box appears. Videonics PowerScript Direct Connection Configuration 3 Select the TCP/IP settings for your network, then click Properties. The TCP/IP Properties dialog box appears. Write this address down 4 Write down (carefully) the information contained in the IP Address text box and set it aside—you’ll need it later. In the example shown above, the IP Address is 206.204.88.139—yours will probably be different. 5 Start PowerScript, enter Ctrl+Shift+F12 to display the SETUP menu, then click the Internet Settings option to display the SETUP INTERNET menu. Ctrl+Shift+F12 SETUP Time & Date Setup GPI GPI Options Display Parameters Video Parameters Serial (RS-232) Setup Internet Settings START PC Card Maintenance SETUP: INTERNET Internet Settings File Maintenance IP Address: 199.100.012.5 Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0 Router/Gateway Address: 149.040.800.2 FTP Password: 6 Enter the IP Address you wrote down in the preceding steps into the IP Address text box in the SETUP INTERNET menu. You must enter the same address as you copied from your computer except that one to three of the last digits must be different. For example, if the address you copied was something like 206.204.88.145, then enter an address such as 206.204.88.175. 161 Chapter 8 PowerScript Computer Connections PowerScript ignores the Subnet Mask and Router/Gateway Address information, so you don’t need to enter anything in those text boxes. The FTP Password is optional. 7 If your Ethernet adapter card is already installed in PowerScript and is also connected to your network, skip ahead to the next step. Otherwise: a. Turn off the power to PowerScript. b. Insert the Ethernet adapter card in the PC Card slot on PowerScript’s rear panel. c. Connect the Ethernet adapter card to your network connection. 8 Turn off the power to PowerScript (if not already turned off), then turn it back on again. This re-cycling is necessary for PowerScript to recognize your changes and detect the Ethernet adapter card. You must now disconnect your computer from the network. 1 Using the steps outlined in the preceding section, open the Network Control Panel. 2 Select the network client installed on your computer, then click Properties. 3 Write down all settings in the Network Properties dialog box so that you can re-install the client on your computer after finishing your work with PowerScript. (TIP: If you have a screen capture utility installed on your system, take a snapshot of the dialog box and print it out for later reference.) Also make sure that you have your original Windows 95 installation disks or CD-ROM available so that you can re-install the network client files. 4 Close the Network Properties dialog box, when you return to the Network dialog box, make sure your network client is still selected, then click Remove. 5 Close the dialog box and all applications, then restart Windows. 6 After Windows restarts, you are ready to create the connection. Turn to page 158 and complete the steps under “LAN Configuration” to establish the connection. Transferring a File to PowerScript from a Computer This example shows how to transfer a font file (named MYFONT.PFB) to PowerScript from the BIGFONTS directory on the computer’s hard disk (identified as drive C). 1 Working at the DOS ftp> prompt, enter the following command to switch to the PowerScript FONT directory: cd font 2 Next, enter the following command: put c:\bigfonts\myfont.pfb This command copies MYFONT.PFB from the computer’s BIGFONTS directory to the PowerScript FONT directory. Closing the Connection After you finish work, you must close the FTP session. All you need to do is enter “bye” or “quit” following the ftp> prompt, and press Return. When the FTP session closes, you return to the C:\WINDOWS> prompt in the MS-DOS window. Type “exit” to close the window and return to Windows. 162 Videonics PowerScript Common FTP Commands Common FTP Commands Table 13: Common FTP Commands Command Function ascii Sets the file transfer type to ASCII, which is the default. binary Sets the file transfer type to binary. bye Ends FTP session with PowerScript and exits FTP. cd Changes the working directory on PowerScript. close Ends FTP session with PowerScript and returns to the ftp prompt. dir Displays list of PowerScript directories, sub-directories, and files. get Copies a file from PowerScript to the computer using the current file transfer type. help Displays a list of ftp commands. lcd Changes the working directory on the computer. By default, the current directory on the local computer is used. ls Displays an abbreviated list of PowerScript directories, sub-directories, and files. mdir Displays a list of multiple PowerScript directories, sub-directories, and files. mget Copies multiple remote files from PowerScript to the computer using the current file transfer type. mput Copies local files to PowerScript using current file transfer type. open Connects to the specified FTP server. put Copies a local file to PowerScript using current file transfer type. pwd Displays PowerScript current directory. send Copies a local file to PowerScript using current file transfer type. Send is identical to put. 163 Notes 9 PowerScript Reference This chapter contains descriptions of the PowerScript menus and their options. The PowerScript MAIN MENU description appears first. Thereafter, the material is organized alphabetically by menu name for quick and easy reference. The menu option descriptions contained herein are brief. For more detailed information about any option, refer to the appropriate sections in Chapters 4 through 7. Each menu description shows the Standard menu and its corresponding Power menu. Standard menus are larger than the Power menus and, therefore, easier to use. Standard menus contain explanatory labels, making them ideal for infrequent or firsttime users. Because of their size, however, Standard menus often obscure objects on the screen. Power menus, because they are smaller, can be placed at the outside edges of the screen, thus providing easier access to objects. Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference PowerScript provides a variety of control keys to make working with menus as easy as possible. Table 14: Menu Control Keys Key Combination Results Shift+Right-click Display Power menus. Ctrl+Right-click Display large Standard menus. Right-Click Toggle menus on and off. Esc Close front-most menu. Shift+Esc Close all menus. For general information about the controls found in menus and how to use them, see “Working with Menus and Menu Controls” on page 58. POWERSCRIPT MAIN MENU Power Menu Ctrl+Right-click displays the MAIN MENU CREATE CLIP TEXT SHADOW FILL OUTLINE SETUP HELP SELECT MODIFY ALIGN There are two versions of the Power MAIN MENU. BKGND TRANS PROJ/PG POWER MENUS Power Menu MAIN MENU Click here, or here to display the Standard MAIN MENU. The PowerScript MAIN MENU is your starting point for access to all other menus and options. To display the MAIN MENU, Ctrl+Right-click anywhere on the screen. Create—Displays the CREATE menu (page 171) for creating objects, such as Text, Lines, Boxes, and so forth. Clip—Displays the CLIP menu (page 170) for placing objects on the clipboard, inserting objects from the clipboard, discarding objects, and reversing a previous action. Text—Displays the TEXT menu (page 189) for selecting fonts, controlling character and line spacing, paragraph alignment, and underlining. Shadow—Displays the SHADOW menu (page 188) for creating drop shadows for objects and controlling the opacity of the shadows. 166 Videonics PowerScript PowerScript Main Menu Fill—Displays the FILL menu (page 173) for controlling the color (Hue, Saturation, and Brightness) and opacity of fills applied to objects. Outline—Displays the OUTLINE menu (page 178) for creating outlines around objects. Setup—Displays the SETUP menu (page 182). This menu contains several different options for controlling the way PowerScript operates. Help—Displays the PowerScript Main Menu Help screen (page 176). Many other PowerScript menus also have help screens. Select—Displays the SELECT menu (page 181) for selecting all objects on a page and for moving objects to the front or back layer of the page. Modify—Displays the MODIFY menu (page 177) for resizing, rotating, and skewing objects. Also provides the option for making an object visible or invisible. Align—Displays the ALIGN menu (page 168) for aligning two or more objects relative to one another. Bkgnd—Displays the BACKGROUND menu (page 169) for creating a solid color background for a page. Trans—Displays the TRANSITIONS menu (page 190) for specifying transitions to use when pages enter or leave the screen. Proj/Pg—Displays the PROJECT/PAGE menu (page 179). With this menu you can manage projects and the pages that comprise a project. Power Menus—Displays the PowerScript Power menus on the screen. 167 Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference ALIGN MENU Select two or more objects before using the options on the ALIGN menu. Control Key = Ç+• Align Center … Ç+Å+C ALIGN Align Left … Ç+Å+L Align Right … Ç+Å+R Align Top … Ç+Å+T Align Bottom … Ç+Å+B Align Middle … Ç+Å+M Power Menu Toggles Word Wrap (TEXT menu) on and off (see page 82). These options correspond to the Paragraph Alignment (or, justification) options on the TEXT menu (see page 189). These options correspond directly to the options shown in the ALIGN menu above. You can combine alignment options. For example, to align two or more objects at their horizontal and vertical centers, select the objects, apply the Align Center option, then apply the Align Middle option, in any order. Related Topics: See “Aligning Objects” on page 77. See “Using Word Wrap” on page 82. 168 Videonics PowerScript Background Menu BACKGROUND MENU Use the BACKGROUND menu to create a solid color background for a page. Control Key = Ç+ª Background On/Off BACKGROUND HUE Ç+Í+ª Help Menu 33 SATURATION 100 BRIGHTNESS Hue, Saturation, and Brightness 0 Power Menu BKGD Current Background Color Selection ON Background On/Off Display Standard Version of Menu Background On/Off—Select the option to turn the background On. Deselect the option to turn the background Off. Deselect the Background Option when you want to superimpose titles over an incoming video signal—such as from a VTR connected to PowerScript’s VIDEO IN connector. Hue, Saturation, and Brightness—Same as for the FILL menu (see page 189). Related Topics: See “Creating a Solid Color Background” on page 106. See “Using a Video Signal as a Background (Using PowerScript’s Internal Keyer)” on page 106. See “Using a Graphic as a Background” on page 107. 169 Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference CLIP MENU Use the CLIP menu to transfer objects to and from the PowerScript clipboard (a temporary area in PowerScript’s memory), to discard objects from a page, and to reverse the previous action. Control Key = Ç+Í+§ CLIP CUT Remove Object and Place on Clipboard … Ç+X COPY Place Copy of Object on Clipboard … Ç+C PASTE Insert Contents of Clipboard … Ç+V CLEAR Discard Object … Ç+Í+X UNDO Reverse Last Action You Performed … Ç+Z Note There is no Power version of the CLIP menu. The Cut, Copy, and Paste options work in conjunction with the PowerScript clipboard. When you cut or copy an object, that object replaces whatever might currently be on the clipboard. When you paste the clipboard contents they appear at the center of the current page. The Paste option does not alter the clipboard contents. The Clear option discards the selected object or objects but does not place them on the clipboard. The Undo option reverses the last action you performed. Choosing Undo again without doing anything else reverses the Undo—for example, choose Clear to discard an object, then choose Undo to restore the object. If you choose Undo again, the object is once more discarded. You can undo changes to an object’s position (including the stacking order), orientation (such as rotation and scaling), object attributes (including style assignments), and object deletion. You cannot undo changes to a Project (such as deleting or changing page order). You cannot undo changes at the Page-level (such as deleting pages and renumbering). Related Topics: See “Cutting, Copying, Pasting, and Clearing Objects” on page 76. 170 Videonics PowerScript Create Menu CREATE MENU Use the CREATE menu to create new objects for a page. Control Key … Ç+Í+∞ Create Text Object … Ç+T Create Line Object … Ç+L Create Rectangle or Square Object … Ç+B Create Oval or Circle Object … Ç+O Place Graphic File Object … Ç+E Create Clock Object … Ç+K Power Menu In most cases, when you create a new object, PowerScript locates the object at the center of the current page. The object appears with object handles that you can use to move, rotate, skew, and resize the object. After creating a new text object, just begin typing after the object appears to create the text characters for the object. When creating a graphic object, the GRAPHIC menu appears (see page 175). Related Topics: See “Placing Objects” on page 66. See “Working with Graphic Objects” on page 72. See “Using Graphic Files” on page 134. 171 Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference FILES MENU The FILES menu provides a way to manage PC Cards—more specifically, to manage the directories and files contained on those cards. You can access the FILES menu in the following ways (in addition to the Control key shown below). • Click the Directories & Files button in the SETUP: PC CARD MAINTENANCE menu (see page 187). • Click the File Maintenance button in the SETUP menu (see page 182). Controls for managing PC Cards and directories appear on the left side of the menu. Controls for managing files on the right side. Control Key… Ç+§ Amount of space (in kilobytes) used and available on the selected PC Card— A:(Front) or B:(Back). Indicates that the file is locked. FILES A: (FRONT) PC CARD 3179 KB USED 947 FILES B: (BACK) NAME) KB AVAILABLE DIRECTORY: The path to the directory selected in this list. A:\EPS L NAME [..] Click this item to move back (or, up) one level in the directory structure. NEW COPY 3739 3524 3668 3988 4024 6199 6558 2574 2664 10246 11408 7512 6663 COPY LOCK/ UNLOCK RENAME DELETE XYZZY XYZZY RENAME DELETE Buttons for creating new directories, duplicating existing directories, renaming existing directories, locking and unlocking directories, and removing directories from a PC Card. Buttons for duplicating files, renaming existing files, locking and unlocking files, and removing files from a PC Card. Related Topics: See “Working with Files and Directories” on page 126. 172 Space used by files SIZE AUTO.EPS ARROW1.EPS ARROW2.EPS ARROW3.EPS ARROW4.EPS BOX1.APS BOX2.APS CHECK1.EPS CHECK2.EPS CIRCLE1.APS CIRCLE2.APS CIRCLE3.EPS CIRCLE4.EPS LOCK/ UNLOCK 2476 TOTAL KB: List of files in the directory selected in the Directory List (opposite side of dialog box). This list shows the file name and its size in kilobytes. Select a file in this list then use one of the buttons at the bottom of the list to act on that file, if desired. Videonics PowerScript Fill Menu FILL MENU Use the FILL menu to specify the color (hue, saturation, and brightness) and opacity for an object’s fill. Control Key … Ç+£ Fill On/Off Ç+Í+£ FILL Hue HUE 33 SATURATION 100 Saturation BRIGHTNESS 0 Brightness OPACITY Opacity 100 Power Menu Fill On/Off FILL S 100 B 100 O 100 ON H 0 Fill On/Off—Select the option to make the object’s fill visible. Deselect the option to make the object’s fill invisible. Hue, Saturation, Brightness—The 3 controls, together, set an object’s color using the HSB color model. Opacity—Controls transparency. An opacity value of zero produces a completely transparent (or, invisible) object fill. An opacity of 100 produces a completely opaque fill. Related Topics: See “Default Object Attributes” on page 67. See “Modifying Object Attributes” on page 77. See “Setting Object Color (Fill)” on page 78. See “Sliders and Text Values” on page 59. 173 Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference FONTS MENU Use the FONTS menu to select a font to assign to all or part of a text object. To display the FONTS menu, click the arrowhead next to the Select Font list in the TEXT menu (see page 189). Control Key … Ç+ß+¡ FONTS “A:” indicates the font is located on the PC Card in the front slot. “B:” indicates it is on the card in the rear slot. “R” indicates it is a ROM-resident font. Current Font A: Bookwoman-DemiItalSH R Bookwoman-DemiSH A: Bookwoman-LightItalSH A: Bookwoman-LightSH R Courier-BoldObliqueSH R Courier-BoldSH R Courier-ObliqueSH R Courier-SH R Forefront-BookObliqueSH R Forefront-BookSH R Forefront-DemiObliqueSH Font List Bookwoman-LightSH COPY DELETE Note There is no Power version of the FONTS menu. However, you can access available fonts from the TEXT power menu (see page 189). Font List—Lists all fonts available on any and all inserted PC Cards. Select the font you want to use by clicking it in the list. Current Font—Displays the name of the font currently selected in the Font List. If you select text within a text object before opening this menu, Current Font displays the name of the font assigned to the selected text. If the selected text has more than one font style applied, Current Font displays the attributes of the first character or characters in the selection. Delete Button—Removes the currently selected font from the Font List and from the PC Card. Font names in the Font List preceded by the letter “R” are ROM-resident fonts and cannot be deleted. CAUTION Make a backup copy of a font before deleting it from a PC Card. Related Topics: See “Text Objects” on page 66. See “Working with Text Objects” on page 70. See “Selecting and Editing Text” on page 70. See “Assigning Attributes to Text Objects” on page 81. See “Working with Styles” on page 102. 174 Videonics PowerScript Graphics Menu GRAPHICS MENU Use the GRAPHICS menu to select and place graphic object files on a page. The menu appears when you select the Graphic File option in the CREATE menu. Control Key … Ç+E GRAPHICS Make copy of selected graphic file. A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: A: ARROW1.EPS ARROW2.EPS ARROW3.EPS ARROW4.EPS ARROW5.EPS ARROW6.EPS ARROW7.EPS BOX1.APS BOX2.APS BOXX3.EPS CC.EPS CCSYMBOL.EPS CHECK1.EPS CIRCLE2.APS CIRCLE3.APS CIRCLE4.APS Available Files List Shows the graphic files available on inserted PC Card or Cards. An A: precedes the files on the card in the front slot. A B: precedes the files on the card in the rear slot. Click the name of the file you want to place to select it. Click to place selected graphic file on the current page. COPY Change name of selected graphic file. XYZZY RENAME DELETE Click to remove selected file from the PC Card. Note There is no Power version of the GRAPHICS menu. Related Topics: See “Working with Graphic Objects” on page 72. See “Using Graphic Files” on page 134. See “PowerScript-Provided Graphic Files” on page 203. 175 Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference HELP MENU PowerScript provides context-sensitive help to remind you how to use the functions provided in several of the menus. Help is available wherever you see the Help icon shown at the left. The Help option appears on the MAIN MENU along with all of the other menu options. In other menus, however, the Help option normally appears in the upper right corner of the menu. FILL HUE 33 SATURATION 100 BRIGHTNESS 0 OPACITY The Help option appears in the upper right corner of many PowerScript menus. Click the option to display a Help menu that explains (briefly) most of the options available in the current menu. 100 HELP (MAIN) HELP TOPICS CLOSE MENU CREATE NEW OBJECT (TEXT, SHAPE, IMPORT GRAPHICS, CLOCK) USE CLIPBOARD TO CUT, COPY, PASTE OBJECTS; UNDO LAST DELETION CHOOSE TEXT FONT, SIZE, SET LETTER AND LINE SPACINGS ADD OR DEFINE SHADOW SET COLOR/OPACITY OF LETTER OR OBJECT FILL SET OUTLINE COLOR AND LINE WIDTH REVISION NUMBER DRAG BKGND TO MOVE MENUS CREATE CLIP TEXT SHADOW FILL OUTLINE SETUP HELP SELECT MODIFY ALIGN BKGND TRANS PROJ/PG POWER MENUS This help menu appears when you click the Help button on the MAIN MENU. SETTINGS, OPTIONS CLICK HERE FOR MORE HELP AND CONTROL KEYS DISPLAY POWER CREATE AND MENUS TRANSFORM SELECT SET PAGE DURATION AND ALTER PAGES AND PROJECTS OBJECTS OR OBJECT (MOVE, CHOOSE TRANSITIONS ROTATE, RESIZE, BRING TO SET BACKGROUND COLOR FRONT/BACK STRETCH, ETC.) ALIGN OBJECTS The PowerScript Help System is limited in scope. It is not intended to replace or duplicate the material contained in this Instruction Manual. 176 Videonics PowerScript Modify Menu MODIFY MENU Use the MODIFY menu to make an object visible or invisible, resize, rotate, or skew an object. You can also use object handles to resize, rotate, skew, and move an object. The MODIFY menu options, however, provide more precise control when needed. Control Key … Ç+¶ MODIFY Object Visibility Option … Ç+Í+¶ aa 100 a 220 a a a % Horizontal Scale Option 50 Vertical Scale Option Rotate Option 0 0 Resize Option % Skew Option Note There is no Power version of the MODIFY menu. Object Visibility Option—Determines whether or not the object is visible on the page. Select the option to make the object visible—deselect to make the object invisible. Even though an invisible object does not appear on the page, it still retains all of its assigned attributes. To select an invisible object, use the Select All option (Ctrl+A) in the SELECT menu, or drag a rectangle over the area of the screen the object occupies. Entering Ctrl+Shift+F7 alternately toggles visibility on and off. Resize Option—Scales an object proportionally: that is, the height to width ratio is maintained. Enter a value in the text box to specify the amount of scaling. Values from zero to 99 reduce the size of the object. Values greater than 100 increase the object’s size. Horizontal Scale Option—Scales an object only on its horizontal axis. Enter a value in the text box to specify the amount of scaling. The minimum value you can enter is 4. Vertical Scale Option—Scales an object only on its vertical axis. Enter a value in the text box to specify the amount of scaling. The minimum value you can enter is 4. Rotate Option—Rotates an object around its center point. Enter the number of degrees to rotate the object in the text box. Positive values rotate the object clockwise: negative values rotate the object counter-clockwise. Acceptable values range from -360 to +360. Skew Option—Slants an object around its center point. Enter a percentage value to skew the object. Use a positive value to skew the object backward (left): use a negative value to skew the object forward (right). Related Topics: See “Changing Object Orientation” on page 74. 177 Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference OUTLINE MENU Use the OUTLINE menu to create a border around the outside perimeter of an object. Control Key … Ç+¢ Outline On/Off Ç+Í+¢ OUTLINE Hue, Saturation, Brightness, and Opacity HUE 33 SATURATION 100 BRIGHTNESS 0 Preview of Outline 100 OPACITY 2 Outline Thickness Power Menu LINE ON Outline On/Off Ç+Í+¢ S 100 B 50 O 100 H 50 1 Outline On/Off—Select this option to make the object’s outline visible. Deselect the option to make the outline invisible. Hue, Saturation, Brightness, and Opacity—Same as for the FILL menu (see page 189) except that it applies to the outline border. Outline Thickness—Enter a value in the text box to specify the thickness (or, line weight) of the outline. You can enter a value from zero (no line) to 100 (maximum line weight). The value here translates to pixels, which are video scan lines. Note Outlines can degrade PowerScript’s performance when it comes to displaying pages, especially when the outlines are applied to text objects and page transitions. Avoid the use of outlines when speed and performance are crucial to the project, or pre-render the page before displaying it. Related Topics: See “Modifying Object Attributes” on page 77. See “Creating Object Outlines” on page 80. See “Sliders and Text Values” on page 59. 178 Videonics PowerScript Project/Page Menu PROJECT/PAGE MENU Use the PROJECT/PAGE menu to manage projects and pages. Those functions for managing projects appear on the left side of the menu—functions for managing pages appear on the right side. Control Key … Ç+¤ Project Controls Page Controls PROJECT/ PAGE PROJECTS PAGES COMMENT COMMENT Page Comment Project Comment Page List Project List Page Numbering CHANGE PG. # CUT NEW Project Buttons 1 2 COPY RENUMBER ALL DELETE PASTE COPY AUTO-SAVE Page Management XYZZY RENAME DELETE NEW: ABOVE NEW: BELOW NEW: END SAVE Note There is no Power version of the PROJECT/PAGE menu. Project Controls Project Comment—An optional field of information that describes a project. Select a project in the Project List, then enter a comment in the text box. If a comment already exists for the project when you select it, the comment appears in the text box. Project List—Lists the projects (that is, files with a PRJ file type extension) on any and all PC Cards inserted in either or both PowerScript PC Card slots. Project Buttons—Use these buttons to manage PowerScript projects. New—Creates a new project. A menu appears for you to enter a name and optional comment for the project. You also specify the PC Card (front or back slot) where you want to store the project. Copy—Creates a duplicate of the project selected in the Project List. A menu appears requesting the same information as when creating a new project. Rename—Changes the name of the project selected in the Project List. A menu appears where you enter the name for the duplicate project. 179 Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference Delete—Removes the project selected in the Project List from the PC Card where it is stored. You cannot undo this action. PowerScript displays a message informing you that delete is permanent and gives you the option to cancel the function. Note Before making major revisions to a project, it is good practice to use the Copy option to make a duplicate of the project. Make the revisions to the duplicate. When you are satisfied with the changes, Delete the original project and Rename the duplicate to the name of the original. Related Topics: See “Working with Projects” on page 89. See “Playing Projects and Pages” on page 108. Page Controls Page Comment—An optional text field for entering a comment or description of the page currently selected in the Page List. PowerScript keeps track of the pages in a project by their assigned numbers. The Page Comment field is there to help you easily identify the pages in a project. Page List—Shows the page numbers and comments assigned to each page in the project currently selected in the Projects List. Page Numbering—Use the controls in this section to renumber a single project page, or all pages in the project. Change Pg #—Displays the page number of the page selected in the Page List. To change the page number, enter a different number in this text box. Whatever number you enter determines the page’s position in the Page List. Enter a number that falls between two existing numbers to position the page between the other two. Renumber All—Re-sequences all pages currently in the Page List. New numbers are assigned as whole integers (without decimal places). Page Management—Use these buttons to manage project pages. Cut—Removes the page selected in the Pages List from the list and places it on the clipboard. The cut page completely replaces the contents of the clipboard, if any. Copy—Places a duplicate of the page selected in the Pages List on the clipboard. The copied page remains in the Pages List and completely replaces the contents of the clipboard, if any. Paste—Inserts a copy of the clipboard contents immediately following the page currently selected in the Pages List. The clipboard contents remain unchanged. Auto Save—Select to have PowerScript automatically save pages as you work on them. Deselect to have PowerScript save pages only when you click the Save button, below. Save—Saves the current page. Delete—Removes the page selected in the Pages List from the PC Card where it is stored. You cannot undo this action. PowerScript displays a message informing you that delete is permanent and gives you the option to cancel the function. Related Topics: See “Working with Pages” on page 93. See “Playing Projects and Pages” on page 108. 180 Videonics PowerScript Select Menu SELECT MENU Use the SELECT menu to select all objects on a page and to manage the organization of the page’s layers. Control Key … Ç+∞ SELECT ALL Selects all objects on the current page … Ç+A TO FRONT Moves selected object(s) to the front layer … Ç+F TO BACK Moves selected object(s) to the back layer … Ç+Í+F Note There is no Power version of the SELECT menu. Related Topics: See “Objects and Page Layers” on page 65. See “Selecting Objects” on page 68. See “Using the SELECT Menu” on page 70. 181 Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference SETUP MENU Use the SETUP menu to control the way PowerScript operates. Control Key … Ç+Í+¤ SETUP Time & Date Setup GPI GPI Options Display Parameters Video Parameters Serial (RS-232) Setup Internet Settings START PC Card Maintenance File Maintenance Note There is no Power version of the SETUP menu nor any of its sub-menus. Related Topics: See “PowerScript Setup” on page 120. 182 Videonics PowerScript Time & Date Setup Time & Date Setup Set the current time and date and specify the format in which the information appears in Clock objects. Select to display the time in clock objects—deselect to display only the date SETUP: DATE & TIME Time Setup Specify the format in which you want the time displayed ON ENTER CURRENT TIME: 08:35 AM SHOW SECONDS 12/24 HOUR, AM/PM NOON/MIDNIGHT 2:35:05 14:35:05 12:00/24:00 Enter current time using time format selected below 2:35 2:35:05 00:00 2:35:05 PM Date Setup Enter current date in format MM/DD/YY ENTER CURRENT DATE: Sat Feb 8, 1997 Specify how you want the day of the week displayed DAY OF WEEK Friday Fri NONE DATE FORMAT January 20, 1996 Jan. 20, 1996 1/20/96 20/1/96 96/1/20 NONE DATE SEPARATOR Specify the format in which you want the date displayed . / - Select the character you want to use to separate month, day, and year values in dates. Related Topics: See “Time & Date Setup” on page 121. 183 Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference GPI Options Use the GPI menu to control external GPI devices (connected to the GPI 1 and/or GPI 2 connectors on the PowerScript rear panel) and/or specify timed triggers for PowerScript’s internal GPI functions. See “Using GPI” on page 115 and “Using Time Triggers” on page 117 for detailed information. Control Key … Ç+Í+• SETUP: GPI GPI 1 PROJECT: .PRJ GPI 2 PROJECT: .PRJ GPI 3 PROJECT: PINKFLYD .PRJ = = 2/14/97 & REPEAT: 00:00:00 = GPI 3 and GPI 4 are internal triggers. They do not work in conjunction with nor are they controlled by the GPI 1 and GPI 2 connectors. 08:30 PM (HH:MM:SS) PROJECT: GPI 4 Specify the name of the project you want to play when a closure occurs at the GPI 1 and/or GPI 2 connectors Specify the project you want to play, the date and time at which you want it to play, and (optionally) how often you want the project to repeat playback. .PRJ = (HH:MM:SS) & REPEAT: Related Topics: See “Using GPI” on page 115. See “Using Time Triggers” on page 117. See “Playing a Project from a Remote Location” on page 118. See “Displaying a Graphic from a Remote Location” on page 119. Display Parameters Use Display Parameters to indicate how you have configured your monitors, control color saturation of graphic files, and specify pixel and line ratios. SETUP: DISPLAY 1 2 Specify how you want PowerScript to handle color saturation in graphic files 100% (NORMAL) Indicate whether you are using a dual or single monitor setup for Preview and Program monitors 75% AUTO Video Related Topics: See “Display Parameters” on page 122. 184 Displays SETUP VIDEO menu. See next section. Videonics PowerScript Video Parameters Video Parameters Use the SETUP VIDEO menu to control functions associated with your video configuration. SETUP: VIDEO VIDEO IN Indicate which standard you want PowerScript to use for black levels SYNC IN 0 IRE 7.5 IRE INTERNAL Indicate how you want PowerScript to synchronize between input and output DO NOT USE UNLESS ASKED TO DO SO BY VIDEONICS TECHNICAL SUPPORT ADVANCED SETTINGS... STUDIO MODEL SETTINGS Appears only if you have the PowerScript Studio model. Click to access the menu, described in the next section. Related Topics: See “Video Parameters” on page 123. Studio Model Settings The SETUP STUDIO menu is available only if you have one of the PowerScript Studio models (PS-4000S or PS-4000SC). Click the Studio Model Settings button in the SETUP VIDEO menu (see preceding section) to display this menu. SETUP: STUDIO OUT SYNC HORIZONTAL PHASE OUT vs. SYNC (pixels) OUT KEY COMB FILTER KEY DELAY (0-63 pixels) ON Similar to above, adjusts signal phase output through PowerScript’s Key OUT connector. Normally, select ON. Deselect if sync quality is substandard and bands of false color appear in the video. OFF COMPOSITE & Y/C COMPONENT COMPONENT IN LEVELS BETACAM MII COMPONENT OUT LEVELS BETACAM MII IN Enter a value in Horizontal Phase to adjust timing and restore synchronization. Displayed only if you have the PowerScript Studio Component model (PS-4000SC) Related Topics: See “Studio Model Settings” on page 124. 185 Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference Serial (RS-232) Setup Options in the SETUP: SERIAL menu control communications between PowerScript and a computer platform connected to the RS-232 connector on PowerScript’s rear panel. The options you specify in this menu must match their counterpart settings in the PPP software. SETUP: SERIAL Serial (RS-232) Setup BAUD RATE PARITY STOP BITS DATA BITS: RECEIVE DATA BITS: SEND 4800 NO 1 5 5 9600 ODD 1-1/2 6 6 7 7 19.2 EVEN 2 8 8 Related Topics: See “Serial Cable Connection” on page 149. Internet Settings Use the SETUP INTERNET menu to specify addresses for connecting to the Internet. SETUP: INTERNET Internet Settings IP Address: 199.100.012.5 Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0 Router/Gateway Address: 149.040.800.2 FTP Password: If you are using a simple PPP connection to a computer serial port, you don’t need to enter anything in the SETUP INTERNET menu. IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Router/Gateway Address are required only if you are using an Ethernet connection to the Internet. Check with your System Administrator for the required addresses. FTP Password (when used) must conform to DOS conventions. Check with your System Administrator for details. Related Topics: See “PowerScript Computer Connections” on page 147. 186 Videonics PowerScript PC Card Maintenance PC Card Maintenance Use the SETUP PC CARD menu to create a new PowerScript Start Card, or erase the data from a PC Card. SETUP: PC CARD START PC Card Maintenance A: (FRONT) Indicate which PC Card slot (FRONT or BACK) holds the card with which you want to work. B: (BACK) ! • SYSTEM • MENUS START CREATE START CARD DIRECTORIES & FILES ERASE FILES DANGER: ERASES CARD! FORMAT & ERASE CARD CAUTION—These options remove all data from the PC Card selected above. Once you erase the data, there is no way to recover it. PROJECTS & PAGES Displays the PROJECT/PAGE menu (see page 179). Displays the FILES menu (see page 172) Create Start Card—Creates a PowerScript Start Card by writing all of the necessary system files (such as menu files) to the card selected in the menu. Erase Files—Removes all files from the selected PC Card with the exception of files and directories that have been locked (see FILES menu on page 172). Format & Erase Card—Removes all files from the selected PC Card whether they are locked or unlocked. Related Topics: See “Creating a Start Card” on page 131. See “Erasing and Formatting PC Cards” on page 132. See “Using PC Cards” on page 133. 187 Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference SHADOW MENU Use the SHADOW menu to create a drop shadow for an object or objects. Drop shadows always appear behind the object they shadow. You can change the displacement of the shadow (the distance away from its object) and shadow opacity. Control Key … Ç+™ Shadow On/Off Ç+Í+™ SHADOW 10 10 100 % Shadow Displacement Shadow Opacity Power Menu Shadow On/Off Ç+Í+™ 10 Shadow Displacement 10 100 Shadow Opacity Shadow On/Off—Select this option (that is, click the check box to display the X inside) to turn on an object’s shadow. Deselect the option to turn the shadow Off. Shadow Displacement—The two values determine, respectively, how far the shadow is offset to the right/left and below/above the object. Enter values in the text boxes to specify the amount of displacement in pixels (or, video scan lines). Positive values position the shadow to the right and below the object, respectively. Negative values position the shadow to the left and above the object, respectively. Shadow Opacity—Determines the transparency/opacity value of the shadow. Enter a value from zero to 100 in the text box, or use the slider to set the value. A value of zero produces a completely transparent shadow; a value of 100 produces a completely opaque shadow. Related Topics: See “Creating Object Drop Shadows” on page 78. 188 Videonics PowerScript Text Menu TEXT MENU Use the TEXT menu to set the font attributes for a text object. Control Key … Ç+¡ Select Font … Ç+Í+¡ TEXT GoodDogPlain Font Size WORD WRAP 50 Line Spacing 0 Letter Spacing (Kerning) 0 Word Wrap On/Off Paragraph Alignment Left … Ç+Å+Í+L Right … Ç+Å+Í+R A Center … Ç+Å+Í+C Text Underlining Power Menu 50 Holstein Most of the options in the TEXT menu appear on the TEXT Power menu, except for the Paragraph Alignment (or, justification) options, which appear on the ALIGN Power menu (shown at right). To select a font style for a text object, click the t symbol to the left of the Select Font list. This displays the FONTS menu (see page 174). Related Topics: See “Placing Objects” on page 66. See “Selecting and Editing Text” on page 70. See “Object Outlines while Editing” on page 71. See “Assigning Attributes to Text Objects” on page 81. See “Using Word Wrap” on page 82. 189 Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference TRANSITIONS MENU Use the TRANSITIONS menu to set a page’s duration and specify transition effects for when the page enters and/or exits the screen. Control Key … Ç+º Set Transitions Transition OUT Duration TRANSITIONS + Transition IN Duration SECS AUTO-SAVE + FRAMES SECS SET TRANSN FRAMES SAVE A C B PLAY Infinite Page Duration SEC + FR. Time-Based Duration START STOP SPEED: DURATION: TARGET (SEC.) ACTUAL Options Button Roll and Crawl Options Transition IN Duration and Transition OUT Duration—These options control, respectively, the amount of time required to make the page appear on screen, and the amount of time required to remove it from the screen. Enter the number of seconds in the respective Seconds text box and the number of frames in the Frames text box. Set Transitions—Displays the TRANSITION EFFECTS menu. See “Transition Effects Menu” on page 192. The Infinite Page Duration, Time-Based Duration, and Roll and Crawl Options are mutually exclusive—that is, you can select only one of the options at a time. Infinite Page Duration—Select this option to make the page remain on screen until it is specifically replaced by a different page. Subsequent pages can be made to appear manually or under control of an external GPI device. When you play the page, it performs its IN transition, then remains on screen until you press Enter (on the keyboard) or PowerScript receives a GPI trigger. At that point, the OUT transition occurs, and the next page comes on screen. (Note that when you use the Infinite Duration option you cannot animate the page.) Time-Based Duration—Select this option to play the page for a specific amount of time. Enter values in the SEConds and FRames text boxes to specify how long you want the page to play. When you play the page, it performs its IN transition, remains on screen for the amount of time you specify, then performs the OUT transition to end the page sequence. Roll and Crawl Options—Select these options to have the page roll or crawl across the screen. Several different options are available for roll and crawl. 190 Videonics PowerScript Transitions Menu Direction Specify the direction for the Roll or Crawl you want with the four buttons at the top of the section. The first button rolls the page upward, the second downward; the third crawls the page right-to-left, the fourth left-to-right. Start/Stop Indicate where you want the roll or crawl to start and stop on the page. You can stop or start the effect from off the screen, or at the middle of the page. If you select the Start Off Screen option, you cannot simultaneously select the Stop Off Screen option. Speed To control the speed of the roll or crawl, enter a value in the SPEED text box, or use the slider to set the speed. Speed can range from 1 to 100, with 1 being the slowest and 100 the fastest. This is a relative value—for example, setting the speed to fastest causes PowerScript to run the effect as quickly as it can. Duration Duration Target can be used to specify the number of seconds you want the roll or crawl to run. Enter the number of seconds in the text box, then click the Options Button to display this menu. ROLL/CRAWL OPTIONS Menu ROLL/CRAWL OPTIONS NEXT NEXT NEXT NEXT HIGHER OPTIMUM SPEED LOWER OPTIMUM SPEED HIGHER ACCEPTABLE SPEED LOWER ACCEPTABLE SPEED For descriptions of these options, see the discussion of duration and target options beginning of page 100. Select one of the options to specify how you want PowerScript to calculate a duration value based on your Target speed. When you close the menu and return to the TRANSITIONS menu, the speed that PowerScript is able to achieve appears in the Actual text box. If the Actual speed indicated does not meet your requirements (such as the speed not falling within your required range, or the page plays in a “choppy or jerky” motion during playback), re-display the ROLL/CRAWL OPTIONS menu and try using a different option. Save—Saves the transition specifications for the page. Play—Previews the effect of the transition you create. Note PowerScript always uses the last selection you make between Speed and Duration. Related Topics: See “Working with Transitions and Page Duration” on page 96. See “Duration Target” on page 100. See “Duration Matching” on page 100. See “Target Options” on page 100. See “Actual Duration” on page 101. See “Playing Projects and Pages” on page 108. 191 Chapter 9 PowerScript Reference TRANSITION EFFECTS MENU Use the TRANSITION EFFECTS menu to select from a wide variety of PowerScript transitions. To display this menu, click the Set Transitions button in the TRANSITIONS menu described above. Control Key … Ç+Í+º TRANSITION EFFECTS A B SECONDS Transition IN Duration Transition IN Options Play Button C Transition OUT Duration + FRAMES B CUT B B FADE B SELECT WIPE SELECT SLIDE SELECT PATH PLAY SAVE Transition OUT Options SELECT B SELECT AUTO-SAVE Save Options Transition IN Duration and Transition OUT Duration—These are the same options as in the TRANSITIONS menu described above. They are repeated here for convenience. Transition IN Options and Transition OUT Options—Select the type of IN and OUT transition you want for the page. The Wipe, Slide, and Path (IN only) transitions provide several variants. Click the associated Select button to display menus of these variants. Save—Saves the specified transitions with the page. Play—Previews the transition you have created. Related Topics: See “Working with Transitions and Page Duration” on page 96. See “Playing Projects and Pages” on page 108. 192 A PowerScript Fonts The original PowerScript Start Card contains an assortment of fonts for your use. Some of these fonts are located in the FONTS directory—others are stored in PowerScript’s ROM (Read Only Memory). Many of the PowerScript fonts are similar to the fonts available with many laser printers. Some of the PowerScript fonts serve as direct substitutes for the laser printer version. For example, if you import an EPS graphic file that uses the Times font, PowerScript automatically substitutes its own Temps font in place of Times. For information about importing other PostScript fonts to use with PowerScript, see “Importing Fonts”later in this appendix. The following table describes the original PowerScript fonts. Table 15: Original PowerScript Fonts File Name Font Name Substitutes for... Comment COSH____.PFB COOSH___.PFB COBSH___.PFB COBOSH__.PFB Courier Courier Monospaced font Example: This is Courier font. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. HESH____.PFB HEOSH___.PFB HEBSH___.PFB HEBOSH__.PFB Heavenetica family Helvetica Smooth, sans serif standard font HEAVBS__.PFB HEAVBOS_.PFB Heavenetica Black Heavenetica Black Italic Helvetica Black Heavily-stroked Helvetica HENSH___.PFB HENOSH__.PFB HENBSH__.PFB HENBOSH_.PFB Heavenetica Narrow Helvetica Narrow Narrow width Helvetica Example: This is Heavenetica font. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. Appendix A PowerScript Fonts Table 15: Original PowerScript Fonts (Continued) File Name Font Name Substitutes for... Comment TERSH___.PFB TEISH___.PFB TEBSH___.PFB TEBISH__.PFB Temps Times Narrow width serif classic font Example: This is Temps font. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. FOBSH___.PFB FOBOSH__.PFB FODSH___.PFB FODOSH__.PFB Forefront Avant Garde Clean, sans serif design Example: This is Forefront font. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. ZACMISH_PFB Zapped Chancellor Zapf Chancery Calligraphy font Example: This is Zapped Chancellor font. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. VAGRBL__PFB VAG Rounded Black VAG Rounded Display font Example: This is VAG Rounded font. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. BODSH___.PFB BODISH__.PFB BOLSH___.PFB BOLISH__.PFB Bookwoman-Demi Bookwoman-DemiItalic Bookwoman-Light Bookwoman-LightItalic Bookman Classic serif font Example: This is Bookwoman font. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. ANDYMS__.PFB Example: Andy Macarthur Admiral Stylish cursive font This is Andy Macarthur font. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. HOLSTEIN.PFB Example: This Holstein Novelty fonta is Holstein font. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. GOODDP__.PFB Good Dog Plain Example: This is Good Dog Plain font. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. JEANCF__.PFB JEANCFB_.PFB JEANCFI_.PFB JEANCFBI.PFB Example: Jean Camil Jean Camil Bold Jean Camil Italic Jean Camil Bold Italic Elegant display fontb This is Jean Camil font. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. a. The Holstein and Good Dog fonts are supplied by Ethan Dunham, Fonthead Design (http://www.fonthead.com/). b. The Jean Camil font is provided by Jacques Bertrand ([email protected]) 194 Videonics PowerScript Font Names FONT NAMES It’s difficult to describe a font in just a few words, so font names normally don’t tell you much about a font’s style. Font designers give fonts their names. Designers do standardize (normally) on the following descriptive terms. Book and Roman refer to the regular form of a font. Italic and Oblique normally refer to slanted characters. Bold refers to characters drawn with a heavier stroke than Book or Roman. They also include variations such as Semibold and Demibold, often abbreviated to semi, sb, or demi. Light refers to characters drawn with a lighter stroke than Book or Roman. Black refers to an extra heavy version of bold. MANAGING FONTS This section explains how to delete and import fonts. Deleting Fonts You can delete any fonts you don’t want to keep from the PowerScript Start Card. You might want to keep a backup copy of these fonts before deleting them. You cannot, however, delete any of the fonts from PowerScript’s ROM. To create a backup copy of a font you need a connection between PowerScript and a computer to transfer the file or files. See Chapter 8, PowerScript Computer Connections, for more information. To delete a font: 1 Display the PowerScript MAIN MENU. 2 Click the Text option to display the TEXT menu. 3 Click the t button to display the FONTS menu. Click to display FONTS menu Heavenetica R identifies ROM-resident fonts You cannot delete these fonts A: indicates the font is on the PC card in slot A B: indicates the font is on the PC card in slot B FONTS A: Bookwoman-DemiItalSH R Bookwoman-DemiSH A: Bookwoman-LightItalSH A: Bookwoman-LightSH R Courier-BoldObliqueSH R Courier-BoldSH R Courier-ObliqueSH R Courier-SH R Forefront-BookObliqueSH R Forefront-BookSH R Forefront-DemiObliqueSH Bookwoman-LightSH COPY DELETE 195 Appendix A PowerScript Fonts 4 Select the font you want to delete in the fonts list. 5 Click Delete. When you click Delete, PowerScript asks you to confirm that you want to remove the font file. The file is not deleted until you click Delete. Click Cancel if you change your mind about deleting the font. Importing Fonts PowerScript can process most PostScript fonts without modification. The quality of the font and its complexity affect PowerScript’s ability to process the characters. Poorly designed fonts have many control points that reduce PowerScript’s ability to process them efficiently. Some inexpensive fonts and shareware fonts fall into this category. Ornate and decorative fonts that include complex graphics (such as some dingbat and picture fonts), might not work with PowerScript, or they might display very slowly. Accented and extended character set fonts might not process well, depending on how they have been encoded. The only way to determine a font’s processing capabilities is through experimentation. When using extended characters (such as accented characters and special symbols), the font must include an encoding vector. PowerScript’s encoding vector is based on 1252 Windows Latin 1 (ANSI), but includes several added characters and some that have been moved to different locations. Table 16 on page 198 lists all of the PowerScript assignments. If you want to add your own fonts with other encoding (such as Latin 2), make sure the font encoding vector is included in the font file. Entering Special Characters Font Formats Some fonts contain characters (such as ñ, ö, and W) that you cannot type directly from the keyboard as you do with normal characters (such as v, R, and 9). To enter these accented and special characters you must use a specific key combination. See “Accented Fonts and Special Characters” later in this appendix for information about using these and other characters. PowerScript works well with standard DOS or Windows-format PostScript Type 1 and Type 3 fonts. You can also use Macintosh-based PostScript fonts and TrueType fonts if you first convert them to one of the font formats mentioned above. Commercial Macintosh applications (such as Macromedia Fontographer) can do these conversions. There are also freeware and shareware applications available for this purpose at Videonics Customer-Extra Web site. (See Table 1, Contacting Videonics, on page 2.) Importing Fonts to PowerScript Before attempting to import a PostScript font to PowerScript: • If necessary, convert the font to one of the compatible formats described above. • Make sure you have a PFB file for the font (most conversion programs create this file for you, and the file is normally present with commercial fonts). PowerScript does not use the PFM file often present with PostScript fonts, so you can disregard this file. • Make sure the font file has a DOS-compatible file name—the name can be up to 8 characters long and must also have the PFB file type extension. In order to import the font file, you must have a computer that can work with a PC Card. or a connection (such as Serial RS-232) between a computer and PowerScript. 196 Videonics PowerScript Accented Fonts and Special Characters To import the font: ¨ Copy or move the font’s PFB file to the FONTS directory on a PC Card. When PowerScript detects the presence of a new font, it requires approximately 30 seconds to read the font and convert it for use. ACCENTED FONTS AND SPECIAL CHARACTERS PowerScript supports accented and special characters (such as â, é, and ©) if the font you are using includes them. Some fonts do not include such characters. To enter an accented or special character, you need to know its decimal character code. The following table lists the standard codes used for most fonts. Some fonts, however, might use a different set of decimal character codes. Normally, the only way to determine this is to try entering the desired characters. To enter an accented or special character: 1 Create a new text object, click on an existing one to insert the text cursor, or drag across the text you want to change. 2 Press the Alt key and hold it down. 3 Enter the decimal character code for the character you want to create. 4 Release the Alt key. For example, to enter the ¥ character, press and hold Alt, type 165 (the decimal character code for the symbol, as shown in the following table), then release the Alt key. 197 Appendix A PowerScript Fonts Table 16: Accented and Special Characters 32 60 < 88 X 116 t 144 172 ¬ 200 È 228 ä 33 ! 61 = 89 Y 117 u 145 ‘ 173 - 201 É 229 å 34 " 62 > 90 Z 118 v 146 ’ 174 ® 202 Ê 230 æ 35 # 63 ? 91 [ 119 w 147 “ 175 ¯ 203 Ë 231 ç 36 $ 64 @ 92 \ 120 x 148 ” 176 ˚ 204 Ì 232 è 37 % 65 A 93 ] 121 y 149 • 177 ± 205 Í 233 é 38 & 66 B 94 ^ 122 z 150 – 178 206 Î 234 ê 39 ' 67 C 95 _ 123 { 151 — 179 207 Ï 235 ë 40 ( 68 D 96 ` 124 | 152 ˜ 180 ´ 208 236 ì 41 ) 69 E 97 a 125 } 153 ™ 181 m 209 Ñ 237 í 42 * 70 F 98 b 126 ~ 154 182 ¶ 210 Ò 238 î 43 + 71 G 99 c 127 155 › 183 · 211 Ó 239 ï 44 , 72 H 100 d 128 156 œ 184 ¸ 212 Ô 240 45 - 73 I 101 e 129 157 185 213 Õ 241 ñ 46 . 74 J 102 f 130 , 158 186 º 214 Ö 242 ò 47 / 75 K 103 g 131 ƒ 159 187 » 215 243 ó 48 0 76 L 104 h 132 „ 160 188 1/4 216 Ø 244 ô 49 1 77 M 105 i 133 … 161 ¡ 189 217 Ù 245 õ 50 2 78 N 106 j 134 † 162 ¢ 190 218 Ú 246 ö 51 3 79 O 107 k 135 ‡ 163 £ 191 ¿ 219 Û 247 ¸ 52 4 80 P 108 l 136 ˆ 164 ¤ 192 À 220 Ü 248 ø 53 5 81 Q 109 m 137 ‰ 165 ¥ 193 Á 221 249 ù 54 6 82 R 110 n 138 3 166 194  222 250 ú 55 7 83 S 111 o 139 ‹ 167 § 195 À 223 ß 251 û 56 8 84 T 112 p 140 Œ 168 ¨ 196 Ä 224 à 252 ü 57 9 85 U 113 q 141 169 © 197 Å 225 á 253 D 58 : 86 V 114 r 142 170 ª 198 Æ 226 â 254 59 ; 87 W 115 s 143 171 « 199 Ç 227 ã 255 198 Ÿ ÿ B Using the PowerScript Mouse and Keyboard This appendix discusses basic, fundamental methods for using the mouse and keyboard, which are integrated into PowerScript. The mouse and keyboard work exactly as they do on many computer platforms. If you are familiar with a computer mouse and keyboard, you probably do not need to read this appendix. MOUSE BASICS A mouse is called a pointing device because you use it to point to items on the screen. You might, for example, use the mouse to point to a menu or an object that you want to use. Here are a few basic mouse usage tips: • Hold the mouse with the cable exiting from the top of the mouse (away from you) with your fingers resting on the buttons. • Allow your thumb and small finger to barely graze the tabletop (or mouse pad) as you move the mouse. This improves control of the device. • We recommend you purchase a mouse pad if you don’t already have one. The pad is normally made of rubber or plastic and provides a tracking surface that improves mouse control. The pad also helps keep the inside of the mouse clean. • Clean the mouse periodically to maintain good control. (Cleaning methods are described later in this appendix.) The need for cleaning is often indicated by the mouse not tracking correctly, the mouse pointer (or, cursor) jumping erratically on the screen, or the mouse not tracking at all. Mouse Pointer (or Cursor) When you move the mouse on the tabletop or mouse pad, an on-screen cursor (like the one shown at left) moves in the corresponding direction. For example, move the mouse left and the cursor moves left on the screen: move the mouse up (or away from you) and the cursor moves toward the top of the screen. Coordinating hand and mouse movements to the motion of the on-screen cursor takes a little practice—at first it might feel like trying to steer a car while seated on the curb—but very shortly you’ll be mousing around with the best of them. Appendix B Using the PowerScript Mouse and Keyboard Mouse Buttons and Techniques Use the mouse buttons to select items, move items, and activate menus. Here are a few important terms and techniques used in this manual relative to mouse operation. Left Mouse Button Mouse Buttons Right Mouse Button The PowerScript mouse has two buttons—designated left and right. All references in this manual to the mouse button refer to the left button, unless they specifically say right. Click Refers to the action of pressing, then immediately releasing a mouse button. You often point the mouse cursor at an item on screen, then click to select the item. Drag Dragging is a method used to move and manipulate items on the screen. This is sometimes referred to as click and drag. The technique here is to point the mouse cursor at an item, click and hold the mouse button, and while holding the mouse button down, move the mouse in the direction you want to move or manipulate the item, then, finally, release the mouse button. For example, you’ll often find it handy to be able to move a menu to a different location on the screen when it obscures an item with which you want to work. In this case, point at the title bar (at the top of the menu), drag it to the location you want, then release the mouse button. Mouse Cleaning Dirt accumulates inside the mouse during normal use. This pollution eventually causes the mouse to behave erratically—for example, the mouse pointer might jump around the screen, the pointer might not track accurately with the movement of the mouse, or the pointer might not move at all. These are indications that the mouse needs cleaning. To clean the mouse: 1 Turn off PowerScript and disconnect the mouse. 2 Remove the circular retaining ring from the underside of the mouse by gently twisting it counter-clockwise. Set the ring aside. 3 Remove the rubber ball from inside the mouse—turn the mouse upright and the ball should fall out into your hand. Set the rubber ball aside. 4 Moisten (don’t soak) a cotton swab with alcohol and use it to clean any dust and grime from the rollers inside the rubber ball cavity. 5 Clean the rubber ball with a dry, lint-free cloth. Do not use alcohol or other solvents to clean the ball. 6 Use the same cloth to wipe clean the retaining ring. 7 Replace the rubber ball and retaining ring, and you’re done. It’s also a good idea to wipe clean and/or vacuum the mouse pad at this time. 200 Videonics PowerScript About the Keyboard ABOUT THE KEYBOARD The keyboard is a KeyTronics™ device. It is similar to a standard typewriter keyboard except that it has several additional keys. You use some, though not all, of the additional keys with PowerScript. We won’t discuss any of the individual keys here—you’ll learn about them in other chapter of this manual. Some of the key groups deserve special attention. LED's Function Keys Esc (Escape) Numeric Keys Mode Keys Keyboard Keys Keypad Arrow Keys Ctrl Alt Alt Ctrl The Numeric Enter key is located on the Keypad The Alpha Enter key is located on the Keyboard Keys Note The default keyboard layout uses the U.S. standard. You can “remap” the keyboard to different standards for international use. See “Remapping the Keyboard” on page 144 for instructions. Enter Keys The keyboard has two keys labeled “Enter.” One is on the keypad, the other on the Keyboard Keys. When referring to the latter (on the Keyboard Keys), this instruction manual identifies it as the Alpha Enter key. The keypad Enter key is referred to as the Numeric Enter key. Function Keys The function keys are labeled F1 through F12. They are called function keys because they can be used (under program control) to perform specific functions. The precise function that any given key performs is controlled programmatically. PowerScript makes extensive use of the function keys. Mode Keys LED’s There are nine mode keys, in two separate groups. You use some of the mode keys for controlling the playback of projects. There are three lights on the LED panel. They glow when the associated key has been depressed and is active. That is, when you press the Num Lock key to activate the feature, the Num Lock LED glows. Likewise, pressing the Caps Lock and Scroll Lock keys cause their LED’s to glow. Pressing a key again deactivates the feature and the LED turns off. 201 Appendix B Using the PowerScript Mouse and Keyboard Keyboard Keys Most of the keyboard keys are the same as you find on a typewriter. In the lower left corner, however, are three special keys that, when used in conjunction with other keys, perform special functions. The first of these is the Control (Ctrl) key. The second is a special Windows key (PowerScript does not use this key). The third is the Alternate (Alt) key. Sometimes you use one of these modifier keys to perform some function. For example, you might be instructed to enter Ctrl+Shift+F12. This means press and hold down both the Ctrl and Shift keys while pressing the F12 function key. The Ctrl and Alt keys also appear at the lower right corner of the keyboard. Numeric Keys The keyboard has two sets of number keys, numbered 0 to 9. It is important to make the distinction between the numeric keys and the same set of keys found on the keypad. Unless you are specifically directed to use the numeric keys, use the keypad keys. Keypad The keys on the keypad resemble those you might find on a calculator. The keypad keys perform a special function with PowerScript—you use them to control the playback of projects. Escape (Esc) Key Pressing the Esc key, found in the upper left corner of the keyboard, closes the front-most menu on the screen. Pressing Shift+Esc closes all menus. Arrow Keys Arrow keys can be used to nudge (or, move) objects in small increments—that is, one pixel (which is the same as a video screen line). Holding down the Shift key while typing an arrow key moves the selected object or objects in larger increments of 10 pixels. Accented Characters PowerScript supports accented characters, such as ç, è, and ü. It also includes special characters, such as ® and ¥, using the Alt key in combination with other keys. See “Accented Fonts and Special Characters” on page 197 for more information. Note Some fonts do not include special characters. Cleaning the Keyboard Unless you work in a dust and dirt free environment, the keyboard requires periodic cleaning. Although you probably don’t need to clean it as often as you clean the mouse, you should vacuum or blow out any dirt that accumulates between and under the keys from time-to-time (do not use highly-compressed air or you might blow keys completely off the keyboard). If any of the keys stick or fail to respond as they should, it is time for a cleaning. To clean the keyboard: 202 1 Turn off PowerScript and disconnect the keyboard. 2 Use a vacuum cleaner or a can of compressed air (which you can purchase from electronic supply stores) to remove any dirt and dust from between and beneath they keys. 3 Use a lightly moistened, lint-free cloth to wipe the keyboard clean. Always avoid getting any type of liquid inside the keyboard. 4 Reconnect the keyboard and you’re done. C PowerScript-Provided Graphic Files An assortment of graphic files is provided with PowerScript—including several graphic illustrations and an assortment of test patterns. You can use these files royalty-free. The files reside in the EPS directory on the original PowerScript Start Card. GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION FILES The following table names, describes, and shows samples of the graphic illustration files provided on the Start Card. Your card might contain some files not listed here. Table 17: PowerScript Graphic Files File Name Description ARROW1.EPS Graduated arrow ARROW2.EPS White arrow ARROW3.EPS Black arrow ARROW4.EPS Curved arrow—cyan with dark blue border ARROW5.EPS Curved arrow— medium blue ARROW6.EPS Curved arrow— yellow with red border Appendix C PowerScript-Provided Graphic Files Table 17: PowerScript Graphic Files (Continued) 204 File Name Description ARROW7.EPS Curved arrow— magenta BOX1.APS Red box with transparent edge BOX2.APS Blue box with transparent edge BOXX3.EPS Fancy bordered box CC.EPS Closed Caption Symbol CHECK1.EPS Red check mark CIRCLE2.APS Green circle with transparent edge CIRCLE3.APS Yellow circle with transparent edge CIRCLE4.APS Red circle with transparent edge CIRCLE4.EPS Rainbow circle CLOUDGRY.EPS Gray cloud CLOUDWT.EPS White cloud Videonics PowerScript Graphic Illustration Files Table 17: PowerScript Graphic Files (Continued) File Name Description FLARE.EPS Purple circle with center flare GGB.JPG JPEG image of Golden Gate Bridge GRAD1.APS Metallic column LIGHTNG.EPS Yellow lightning bolt NEONBLUE.EPS Blue neon line NEONBOX1.EPS Red neon box NEONBOX2.EPS Yellow neon box NEONBOX3.EPS Blue neon box NEONPINK.EPS Pink neon line NEONRED.EPS Red neon line NEONVIO.EPS Violet neon line NOVA.EPS Nova Systems logo 205 Appendix C PowerScript-Provided Graphic Files Table 17: PowerScript Graphic Files (Continued) 206 File Name Description PSLOGO.EPS PowerScript logo PSSLOGO.EPS PowerScript Studio logo RHINO.EPS This is an EPS file that uses a clipping path to create a transparent background SPEAK1.EPS Cartoon balloon points right SPEAK2.EPS Cartoon balloon points left SPEAK3.EPS Cartoon thought balloon points right SPEAK4.EPS Cartoon thought balloon points left SPHERE1.EPS Red sphere SPIRO1.EPS Spirally placed rectangles (blue) SPIRO2.EPS Spirally placed rectangles (purple) SPLASH1.EPS Blue splash Videonics PowerScript Graphic Illustration Files Table 17: PowerScript Graphic Files (Continued) File Name Description SPLASH2.EPS Gold splash SQUIGGLE.EPS Purple, squiggly line STAR.EPS Stylized star SUN-ORG.EPS Sun with orange rays TRIBLUE.EPS Blue triangle TRIRED.EPS Red triangle TRIWT.EPS White triangle TV14-40.GIF Television Rating Symbol* TVG-40.GIF Television Rating Symbol* TVMA-40.GIF Television Rating Symbol* TVPG-40.GIF Television Rating Symbol* TVY-40.GIF Television Rating Symbol* 207 Appendix C PowerScript-Provided Graphic Files Table 17: PowerScript Graphic Files (Continued) 208 File Name Description TVY7-40.GIF Television Rating Symbol* UMBRELLA.EPS Umbrella WAVE1.EPS Red wavy line WCLOUDS.JPG Weather indicator for clouded skies WCLOUDY.JPG Weather indicator for cloudy skies WLTNING.JPG Weather indicator for lightning WPARTLY.JPG Weather indicator for partly cloudy skies WRAIN.JPG Weather indicator for rain WSUNNY.JPG Weather indicator for sunny skies Videonics PowerScript Graphic Illustration Files Table 17: PowerScript Graphic Files (Continued) File Name Description YELSUN.EPS Yellow sun ZIGZAG1.EPS Violet zigzag line ZIGZAG2.EPS Yellow zigzag line ZIGZAG3.EPS Red zigzag line *—These graphics all relate to the new TV Parental Guidelines, which are a convention in which TV shows are rated according to content. This convention is sanctioned by the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters). Each graphic is sized to 40 scan lines high, the recommended specification. To use one of these graphics, place it in upper left corner of screen. Set transparency to 70% or more when placing graphic, if desired. The appropriate icon should appear for the first 15 seconds of a program and be repeated at the beginning of each succeeding hour. The default PowerScript style assigned to the F10 key places these graphics at the upper left and sets transparency (see “Working with Styles” on page 102). For official information regarding the use of TV Guidelines, visit the following Web site: http://www.tvguidelines.org/ Ways to Use Graphics Tips You can use the graphic files as is, or use PowerScript’s controls to modify them to your specific needs. You can: • Resize the boxes and circles to use them as borders around text • Rotate the arrows and place them wherever you like. • Add a rectangle to the shaft of an arrow to make it as long and/or wide as you need. • Skew (slant) graphics to customize their appearance. • Stretch NEON graphics to change from subtle to pronounced effects. • Combine similar graphics of different colors. For example, place SPLASH1.EPS atop SPLASH2.EPS and change their locations slightly. • Add SQUIGGLE.EPS to a NEON box. A couple of points to keep in mind when using the illustrations files: • Files with the APS file type extension contain transparency information (normally over the edges) making them useful over a video background. • When using large files (such as the SPIRO graphics), place them last onto your page. This optimizes the display of the page because you don’t have to wait for these complicated graphics to appear. 209 Appendix C PowerScript-Provided Graphic Files POWERSCRIPT TEST PATTERNS Note The PowerScript test patterns are not designed to replace a special purpose test pattern generator, which can be calibrated and used for applications that require a high level of accuracy. The following table identifies and describes the PowerScript EPS test pattern files. Table 18: PowerScript Test Pattern Files EPS File Name Description of pattern Z2STEP.EPS Two, gray steps. Center shows black and 95% black stripes, used to set black level. ZBARS.EPS Color bars ZBLUE.EPS Solid blue screen ZCROSS.EPS Crosshatch—grid of white lines ZGRAY-50.EPS Solid, 50% gray screen ZGREEN.EPS Solid green screen ZLINEAR.EPS Linearity: Grid of white lines and large circles. ZLUMSTEP.EPS 10-step gray scale ZRED-75%.EPS Solid, 75% red screen ZRED.EPS Solid red screen (purity test) ZWHITE.EPS Solid white screen ZYELLOW.EPS Solid yellow screen To use a test pattern file, create a new, blank page, then place the EPS test pattern file just as you would any other EPS graphic file. You can rescale the test pattern file to any desired size. 210 D PowerScript Control Keys This appendix summarizes the control keys available with PowerScript. This information also appears on the PowerScript Quick Reference Card. MANAGING MENUS Reset menus to factory defaults Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Esc Close All Menus Shift+Esc Close Top Menu Esc Close Standard Menus Leave Power Menus on Screen Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Esc Open Align Menu Ctrl+F8 Open Background Menu Ctrl+F9 Open Clip Menu Ctrl+Shift+F6 Open Create Menu Ctrl+Shift+F5 Open Files Menu Ctrl+F6 Open Fill Menu Ctrl+F3 Open Font Menu Ctrl+Shift+F1 Open GPI Setup Menu Ctrl+Shift+F8 Open Graphics Menu Ctrl+E Open Help Menu Ctrl+Shift+? Open Main Menu Ctrl+Right Click Open Modify Menu Ctrl+F7 Open Outline Menu Ctrl+F4 Open Power Menus Shift+Right Click Open Power Menus and Main Menu Ctrl+Shift+Right Click Open Project/Page Menu Ctrl+F12 Appendix D PowerScript Control Keys Open Select Menu Ctrl+F5 Open Setup Menu Ctrl+Shift+F12 Open Shadow Menu Ctrl+F2 Open Text Menu Ctrl+F1 Open Transition Menu Ctrl+F10 Open Transition Effects Menu Ctrl+Shift+F10 TOGGLING OBJECT ATTRIBUTES Toggle Background Attribute Ctrl+Shift+F9 Toggle Fill Attribute Ctrl+Shift+F3 Toggle Hot Borders Ctrl+Shift+G Toggle Modify Attribute Ctrl+Shift+F7 Toggle Outline Attribute Ctrl+Shift+F4 Toggle Safe Title Area Ctrl+G Toggle Shadow Attribute Ctrl+Shift+F2 MOUSELESS MENUS Select Next Menu Field Ctrl+Tab Select Previous Menu Field Ctrl+Shift+Tab Select First Menu Field Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Tab Enter (“Click”) Menu Field Ctrl+Enter WORKING WITH PROJECT PAGES New Page at End Ctrl+N Save Current Page Ctrl+S MOVING SELECTED OBJECTS 212 Move Object Up 1 Line Up Arrow Move Object Up 10 Lines Shift+Up Arrow Move Object Down 1 Line Down Arrow Move Object Down 10 Lines Shift+Down Arrow Move Object Left 1 Line Left Arrow Move Object Left 10 Lines Shift+Left Arrow Move Object Right 1 Line Right Arrow Move Object Right 10 Lines Shift+Right Arrow Videonics PowerScript NAVIGATING PAGES AND SCROLLABLE LISTS Bottom Right Shift+Alt+End Center of Page Alt+Home Top Left Shift+Alt+Home Move Up 1 Line in Menu List Ctrl+Up Arrow Move Down 1 Line in Menu List Ctrl+Down Arrow Move Left Half of Screen Alt+Left Arrow Move Left One Full Screen Shift+Alt+Left Arrow Move Right Half of Screen Alt+Right Arrow Move Right One Full Screen Shift+Alt+Right Arrow Move Up One-Half Screen Alt+Up Arrow Move Up One Full Screen Shift+Alt+Up Arrow Move Up One Page in Menu List Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow -orCtrl+PgUp Move Down One-Half Screen Alt+Down Arrow Move Down One Full Screen Shift+Alt+Down Arrow Move Down One Page in Menu List Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow -orCtrl+PgDn CLIPBOARD-RELATED OPERATIONS Clear Object from Page Ctrl+Shift+X Copy Object to Clipboard Ctrl+C Cut Object to Clipboard Ctrl+X Paste Object from Clipboard Ctrl+V Undo Ctrl+Z CREATING OBJECTS Create Box Object Ctrl+B Create Clock Object Ctrl+K Create Graphic Object Ctrl+E (displays GRAPHICS menu) Create Line Object Ctrl+L Create Oval Object Ctrl+O Create Text Object Ctrl+T 213 Appendix D PowerScript Control Keys ALIGNING OBJECTS Left Align Objects Ctrl+Alt+L Middle Align Objects Ctrl+Alt+M Right Align Objects Ctrl+Alt+R Top Align Objects Ctrl+Alt+T Center Align Objects Ctrl+Alt+C Bottom Align Objects Ctrl+Alt+B TEXT JUSTIFICATION AND OTHER OPERATIONS Left Justify Text Ctrl+Shift+Alt+L Center Justify Text Ctrl+Shift+Alt+C Right Justify Text Ctrl+Shift+Alt+R Toggle Underline Ctrl+U Toggle Word Wrap Ctrl+W SELECTING AND MANIPULATING OBJECTS Bring to Front Ctrl+F Select All Ctrl+A Select None Ctrl+Shift+A Send to Back Ctrl+Shift+F ANIMATION OPERATIONS Rewind Animation Ctrl+Alt+Left Arrow Fast Forward Animation Ctrl+Alt+Right Arrow PLAYBACK 214 AND EDIT OPERATIONS Decrease Roll/Crawl Speed Ctrl+- (...on keypad) Increase Roll/Crawl Speed Ctrl++ (...on keypad) Pause Spacebar Play Mode / Edit Mode Toggle Numeric Enter Pre-Render Page / (...on keypad) Reboot PowerScript Ctrl+Alt+Del Videonics PowerScript WORKING WITH STYLES Apply Style F1 — F12, and Shift+F1 — Shift+F12 (Use the F-Key that corresponds to the style you want to apply. See Table 7 on page 102.) Create Style Alt+F1 — Alt+F12, and Shift+Alt+F1 — Alt+Shift+F12. (Use the F-Key that corresponds to the style you want to create or change. See Table 7 on page 102.) Clear Styles Ctrl+Alt+X TEMPORARY KEY MAPPING ASSIGNMENT American (US Standard) Shift+Ctrl+1 Belgian Shift+Ctrl+2 British Shift+Ctrl+3 Canadian Multilingual Shift+Ctrl+4 Danish Shift+Ctrl+5 Dutch Shift+Ctrl+6 Finnish Shift+Ctrl+7 French Shift+Ctrl+8 French Canadian Shift+Ctrl+9 German Shift+Ctrl+Alt+0 Icelandic Shift+Ctrl+Alt+1 Irish Shift+Ctrl+Alt+2 Italian Shift+Ctrl+Alt+3 Latin American Shift+Ctrl+Alt+4 Norwegian Shift+Ctrl+Alt+5 Portuguese Shift+Ctrl+Alt+6 Portuguese, Brazilian ABNT2 Shift+Ctrl+Alt+7 Spanish Shift+Ctrl+Alt+8 Swedish Shift+Ctrl+Alt+9 215 Notes E PowerScript Specifications Specifications are subject to change without notice. PowerScript Models PS-4000S PowerScript Studio, PAL or NTSC. Includes adjustable chroma SC, horizontal phase and key timing controls and power-loss composite signal bypass relay. PS-4000SC PowerScript Studio Component, PAL/625 or NTSC/525. Includes adjustable chroma SC, horizontal phase and key timing controls and power-loss composite signal bypass relay; plus analog component inputs and outputs. General Specifications Models PS-1000 and PS-1000S Model PS-1000SC Dimensions 17.5" x 13" x 1.75" 444 x 330 x 44 mm 17.5" x 13" x 1.75" 444 x 330 x 89 mm Weight 10 lbs. or 4.5 kg 15 lbs. or 6.8 kg Power 90-260 VAC, 5-60 Hz, 120 W 90-260 VAC, 5-60 Hz, 120 W Ambient 32–90˚F (0–32˚C): less than 90% humidity 32–90˚F (0–32˚C): less than 90% humidity Inputs Y/C (S-Video) Program IN Y=1 Vp-p, C=0.30 Vp-p, 75-ohm, 4-pin mini-DIN connectors Composite IN 1.0 Vp-p, 75-ohm, BNC connectors REF (Sync) IN Composite, 1.0 Vp-p, BNC connectors, switchable 75-ohm termination, loop-through output provided YUV IN (PS-1000SC/PAL Model only) BNC Connectors, 625 YUV levels Y, R-Y, B-Y IN (PS-1000SC/NTSC Model only) BNC Connectors, 525 Betacam and Panasonic MII levels Appendix E PowerScript Specifications Outputs Y/C (S-Video) Program OUT Y=1.0 Vp-p, C=0.30 Vp-p, 75-ohm, 4-pin mini-DIN connectors Composite Outputs (Program, Preview, and Key) 1.0 Vp-p, 75-ohm, BNC connectors REF (Sync) OUT BNC loop-through from REF IN YUV IN (PS-1000SC/PAL Model only) BNC Connectors, 625 YUV levels Y, R-Y, B-Y IN (PS-1000SC/NTSC Model only) BNC Connectors, 525 Betacam and Panasonic MII levels Digital Control Networking RISC Processor High-speed, Level 2 PostScript-compatible raster image processor SERIAL IN RS-232, 9-pin (DB-9) port for file upload and download using computer equipped with data communication software. Supports transfer of fonts, graphics, and titling screens. PC Card Two standard PC card (PCMCIA) Type III slots, one on front panel, one on rear. Both accept Type I, II, or III PC cards. Support for Ethernet and flash-RAM. Ethernet connection supports file transfer protocol (FTP using TCP/IP). Keyboard Front panel connector. Keytronics AT-style IBM-PC compatible. Mouse Front panel connector. Serial two-button mouse. Microsoft mouse compatible. Control (GPI) IN 2 x BNC. Active-low. Video Performance Digital Conversion 4:2:2, 26-bit quantization (10 bit Y, 8-bit each U and V). S/N Ratio Bandwidth Over 60 dB. Bandwidth: 5.5 MHz Timebase Corrector/Synchronizer Full frame (two field) infinite-window, locks to REF IN if present, otherwise locks to Video IN. If neither is present, generates RS-170A time base. 218 Videonics PowerScript Character Generator Performance Character Generator Performance Resolution 4-bit (16 level) anti-aliasing on 74 ns pixel yields 4.63 ns effective resolution. Characters are imaged from PostScript Type 1 outline fonts. Fonts 35 built-in, PostScript Type 1 importable Placement Character can be placed anywhere on screen (or off screen for rolling and crawling in or out) with any size, rotation. Stretch horizontally or vertically, skew at any angle. Styles Underline Shadow Drop shadow, variable displacement and opacity Colors Over 1,000,000 (8,000 when combined with transparency) Outline and Fill Variable width outline (stroke), independent fill and outline settings support all available colors. Transparency (alpha) 0-100% transparency in 64 steps. Characters and graphics are rendered transparent with respect to background colors, background video, and each other. Spacing Variable letter and word spacing. Justification Left, right, horizontal center, justify, top, bottom, and vertical center. Word Wrap. Graphics Internally Generated Lines, boxes, and ovals can be placed anywhere on page. Graphics are anti-aliased and offer same size, stretch, angle, skew, color, transparency, fill, and outline options as characters. Imported Images PCX, JPEG, GIF, and standard PostScript EPS and proprietary APS (EPS with Alpha transparency layer) graphics generated by graphic applications on a variety of computer platforms. Images can be any size and may be scaled, skewed, and rotated when placed on screen. Transparency and anti-aliasing can be defined when graphic is created. Object-based (vector) elements in EPS files automatically anti-aliased. Roll and Crawl Direction Four directions supported—up, down, left, and right Speed Controlled by speed factor (1-10) or duration time. Auto calculates speed to achieve closest possible time to desired duration. 219 Appendix E PowerScript Specifications Keying Anti-aliased, linear key signal live at all times. Styles Provides 24 default styles for applying attributes to objects. Styles can be redefined by users. Styles applied by entering defined key combinations. Others Clock/Calendar Available for displaying current date and time in various formats. Can also use various fill colors, transparency, font size and style, and so forth. Automatic Play Clock can activate projects and pages at pre-defined times. Patterns Creates basic patterns (color bar, crosshatch, gray step wedge, black burst) and allows titling atop pattern. 220 INDEX A C actual duration 101 adjust duration 101 Horizontal Phase 124 Key Delay 124 signal phase 124 Adobe Illustrator 142 Adobe Photoshop 142 advanced settings 124 ALIGN menu 77, 168 animation restrictions 97, 190 anti-aliasing 137, 139 APS file type 126 files 135 ATA card format 130, 149 Atmel card format 130, 149 attributes assigning to text objects 81 defaults 67 defined 77 hide and show 77 options 77 using styles 102 Auto Save 95, 180 AUTO.APS 119 AUTO.EPS 119 auto-start 115 files 126 using 118 available fonts 84 cable RCA 27 S-Video 27 types 27 Y/C 27 change page number 95 character spacing 82 check boxes 58 Clear 76, 170 client/server defined 148 CLIP menu 76, 170 clipboard defined 76 clipping path 141 clock create object 67 objects 121 suppress time display 121 close box 59 CMYA 142 CMYK 142 color adjust EPS colors 122 matching 59 Comb Filter 125 comment page 33, 94 project 32 Component IN 5 Component OUT 5 Component Out Levels 125 computer configuring PowerScript 150 software requirements 150 supported platforms 148 configuration 16 monitors 122 connecting keyboard 14 mouse 15 connector power 5 control keys defined 10 listing of 211 Copy 76, 94, 170, 180 copy project 91 CRASHED.PRJ 118 crawl 97, 99, 101, 190 dynamic control 101 page direction 99 speed 99 start/stop 100 B background defined 106 keying 106 transparency 141 using graphics 107 using objects as 107 using video signal 106 BACKGROUND menu 59, 106, 169 Baud Rate 154 Betacam 125 black level 123 blends 137 BNC RCA adapter 27 box create object 66 brightness defined 59 create box object 66 clock object 67 directory 128 graphic object 66 line object 66 object 66 oval object 66 page 33, 94 project 31, 91 start card 131 text object 66 CREATE menu 66, 107, 171 cursor 30 text 32 Cut 76, 94, 95, 170, 180 transition 98 D Data Bits 154 date enter current 122 set format of 122 day of week display 122 default object attributes 67 setup parameters 120 delete font 195 page 96 project 92 Demo project 32 directory copy 128 create 128 delete 129 information 128 lock 129 path 128 rename 128, 129 unlock 129 displaying Standard menus 56 drag selection method 69 drop shadow creating 79 defined 78 DSK 20, 106, 107 Index duration acceptable speed 101 actual 101 adjustments 101 infinite 97 matching 99, 100 optimum speed 101 page 96 target 99, 100 options 100 time-based 97 transition IN 97, 98 transition OUT 97, 98 E edit by page number 111 current page 111 mode 109 next page 111 previous page 111 while playing 109 Edit Mode 109 EPS CMYA 142 CMYK 142 embedded text 140 files 135 color adjustment 122 square pixel factor 140 type 126 transparency 142 erase PC Card 132 Ethernet 148 adapter 88, 133 compatibility 150 external sync 123 F Fade transition 98 Fetch transferring files with 156 using 155 file APS 135 copy 129 delete 129 EPS 135 GIF 136 JPEG 135 lock 129 PCX 136 PLA 119, 127 PRJ 89 rename 129 type extension 134 unlock 129 ii files auto-start 126 defined 126 font 126 menu 126 names 11 page 126 project 126 system 126, 130 type extensions 11 FILES menu 127, 172 FILL menu 59, 78, 173 font accented 197 availability list 84 current selection 84 delete 85, 174, 195 determining current attributes 85 entering special characters 196 files 126 formats 196 importing 196 names 195 provided with PowerScript 193 ROM-based 84, 193 size 81 special characters 197 style 81, 84 FONTS directory 193 FONTS menu 84, 174 format PC Card 132 FreePPP 151 FTP 119, 147, 148, 150 restrictions 155 fuse 5 changing 15 G GIF file 136 GPI 96, 115 device connectors 116 jack 5 options 122 page trigger 117 time triggers 117 trigger project 116 using 115 gradients 137 graphic display from remote location 119 graphic files bit-mapped 138 converting 136 efficiency 137 older EPS formats 137 vector-based 138 graphic object create 66 GRAPHICS menu 42, 66, 175 H Help 176 hot borders 46, 114 hue defined 59 I IDE card format 130 infinite duration 97 internal keyer 106 Internet file transfers 147 settings 125 invisible objects 74, 177 J jack Component IN 5 Component OUT 5 GPI 5 KEY OUT 7 keyboard 5 mouse 5 PREVIEW OUT 7 RS-232 5 SYNC loop 5 VIDEO IN 7 VIDEO OUT 7 JPEG file 135 justification 82 K key OUT jack 7 keyboard connecting 14 jack 5 remapping 144 keypad play keys 109 L layers defined 65 line create object 66 text object spacing 81 line voltage 15 Index M N P Macromedia FreeHand 142 MAIN MENU 31, 166 matching duration 100 menu accessing 55 ALIGN 77, 168 BACKGROUND 59, 106, 169 CLIP 76, 170 close box 59 control with keyboard 61 controls 58 CREATE 66, 107, 171 FILES 127, 172 files 126 FILL 59, 78, 173 FONTS 84, 174 GRAPHIC 66 GRAPHICS 42, 175 MAIN MENU 31, 166 MODIFY 177 navigation keys 61 NEW PROJECT 32 OUTLINE 59, 80, 178 PROJECT/PAGE 31, 33, 90, 91, 93, 96, 179 ROLL & CRAWL OPTIONS 52 SELECT 70, 107, 181 SETUP 109, 120, 182 DATE & TIME 121, 183 DISPLAY 122, 184 GPI 116, 117, 184 PC CARD 131, 187 SERIAL 154, 186 STUDIO 185 VIDEO 123, 185 SETUP INTERNET 186 SHADOW 79, 188 TEXT 81, 84, 189 TRANSITION EFFECTS 51, 98, 192 TRANSITIONS 49, 97, 190 MII 125 mode edit 109 play 109 single-monitor 109 MODIFY menu 177 monitor configuration 122 Preview 16, 109 Program 16, 109 mouse connecting 15 jack 5 pointer 30 mouseless menus 61 move handle 69 name page 33 project 32, 89 NEW PROJECT menu 32 nudge objects 75 null modem cable 149 Num Lock key 110 package contents 4 page Auto Save 95, 180 change number 95 comment 33, 94, 180 crawl 97, 99, 190 create 33, 94 defined 93 delete 96, 180 duration 96 edit by number 111 current 111 next 111 previous 111 files 126 GPI time trigger 117 imaging 108 layers 65, 69 list of 93 name 33 numbering 180 numbers 95, 126 play 108 by number 110 current 110 next 110 next immediate 110 previous 110 playback 109 pre-rendering 108 renumber 94, 95 reorder 94 roll 97, 99, 190 select for preview 94 time-based duration 97 Parity 154 Paste 76, 94, 95, 170, 180 Path transition 98 PC Cards directories 128 disable writing to 131 erasing 132 formats 149 formatting 132 information about 128 maintenance 125 modify with computer 134 purchasing 130 restrictions 133 sample configurations 133 slot 5, 32, 90, 130 identification 90 types 130 using 130, 133 voltage restrictions 130 PCMCIA cards 5, 130 PCX file 136 O object alignment 77 attributes 63 bounding rectangle 68 changing attributes 77 changing orientation 74 color 78 create 66 box 66 clock 67 line 66 oval 66 text 66 fill 78 handles 68 move layer to back 70 move layer to front 70 moving 69 nudging 75 outlines 80 place on page 66 resizing 69 rotating 69, 75, 177 scaling 74, 177 select 68, 69 all on page 70 by layer 65, 69 skewing 69, 75, 177 types 63 visibility 74, 177 opacity defined 60 open project 92 OUTLINE menu 59, 80, 178 outlines defined 80 oval create object 66 iii Index PLA file type 127 creating 118 deleting file 119 transfer to PowerScript 119 play controls 109 current page 110 mode 109 next page 110 page by number 110 pages 108 previous page 110 while editing 109 Play Mode 109 playback controls 109 power connector 5 light 5 menus 56 switch 5 voltage 15 Power menus displaying 56 PowerScript as primary input device 18 as stand-alone device 17 cursor 30 feeding switcher DSK 20 internal DSK 22 on-line production studio 23 setup for single monitor 25 single-monitor mode 24 starting 30 PowerScript Communicator 72, 89, 119 PPP 148, 150 configuring 151 settings 150, 186 pre-rendering feature 108 preview image 137 monitor 16, 109 OUT jack 7 page 94 PRJ file type extension 89 Program monitor 16, 109 project comment 32, 90, 179 copy 48, 91, 179 create 31, 91 defined 89 delete 92, 180 Demo 32 files 89, 126 GPI time trigger 116 list of available 90, 93 name 32, 89 new 179 open 92 play from remote location 118 rename 92, 179 save 89 iv PROJECT/PAGE menu 31, 33, 90, 91, 93, 96, 179 protocol defined 148 PS-1000S 185 PS-1000SC Phase Adjustment 5 R radio buttons 58 RCA BNC adapter 27 cable 27 remap keyboard 144 remote location control crawl 101 control roll 101 display graphic 119 play project 118 rename project 92 renumber pages 94 reorder pages 94 resize handle 69 right-click defined 31 roll 97, 99, 101, 190 dynamic control 101 page direction 99 speed 99 start/stop 100 ROLL & CRAWL OPTIONS menu 52 Roll and Crawl options 49, 52 ROM font 84 rotate handle 69 rotating object 177 RS-232 cable 149 jack 5 setup 125 S safe title area 56, 115 Sandisk card format 130 saturation defined 59 Save 180 save page Auto Save 95 project 89 SC Phase Adjustment 5 scale object 177 Scroll Lock key 109 select all objects 69 object 68, 69 text in object 71 SELECT menu 70, 107, 181 Serial (RS-232) setup 125 serial connection 149 establishing 154 SETUP DATE & TIME menu 121, 183 DISPLAY menu 122, 184 GPI menu 116, 117, 184 INTERNET menu 186 PC CARD menu 131, 187 SERIAL menu 154, 186 STUDIO menu 185 VIDEO menu 123, 185 setup defaults 120 functions 120 SETUP menu 109, 120, 182 SHADOW menu 79, 188 Shift+click defined 69 single-monitor mode 24, 109, 122 skew handle 69 skew object 177 Slide transition 98 slider controls 58 slot for PC card 5 sneaker net 149 special text characters 196 stacking order 65 start card 104, 126 contents of 130 creating 131 defined 130 inserting 30 using 88 starting PowerScript 30 STARTUP.PRJ 118, 126 STARTUP.SYS 126 Stop Bits 154 styles 77 applying 102, 104 changing attributes of 104 creating 104 defaults 102 defined 102 Index exporting 104 importing 104 location of files 104 notes on using 105 redefining 102 removing 105 STYLKEYS.BIN 104 S-Video cable 27 switch power 5 SYNC 123 external 123 sync loop jack 5 system files 126, 130 reset 88 T target duration 52, 100 TCP/IP 147, 148 TERM switch 123 text boxes 58 create object 66 cursor 32, 71 in EPS files 140 object attributes 81 justification 82 removing text 71 replacing text 71 selecting text in 71 underlining 82 underlining 80 TEXT menu 81, 84, 189 time set current 121 specify format of 121 supress display of 121 triggers 115 using 117 Time & Date displaying 121 setting 121 transition defined 96 effects 98 IN 96 IN duration 97, 98 OUT 96 OUT duration 97, 98 play 97, 98 save 97, 98 type 98 TRANSITION EFFECTS menu 51, 98, 192 TRANSITIONS menu 49, 97, 190 transparency 141, 142 U underlined text 80 underlining text 82 Undo 76, 170 URL 155 V video IN jack 7 OUT jack 7 parameters 109, 123 scan lines 81 voltage 15 VRAM 109 W Wipe transition 98 Word Wrap 82, 189 conditions 83 defined 70 handle 44, 83 non-breaking space 83 option 44 using 83 write protect tab 131 Y Y/C cable 27 v Notes