Application Suite: ChangeFSI

Starting ChangeFSI

  ChangeFSI is in the Utilities directory on your hard disc or network. To start the application, double-click on the ChangeFSI application icon, shown on the left.

Using ChangeFSI

Double click on the application icon to start ChangeFSI. Its icon will be loaded onto the icon bar. Open the directory that contains the file (image) to be processed and drag the icon onto the ChangeFSI application icon on he icon bar. ChangeFSI will attempt to convert and process the file to produce a RISC OS sprite or a JPEG. You can then save the resulting image.

ChangeFSI automatically converts images to give the best possible screen image for any display mode. For example, if you choose a 32-thousand colour mode ChangeFSI will produce an image with 32 thousand colours. If you only choose a 16-colour display mode ChangeFSI will produce a 16-colour image. If the colours in the image are "nearer" to the WIMP greys than the colours that are available then the image may be displayed in monochrome. This doesn't mean that the colour information has been lost (unless you save the image as a sprite in that mode).

Note: ChangeFSI may not retain transparent sprite pixels during processing. Transparent pixels can be changed to a colour, depending on the screen mode (e.g. transparent pixels in a 16-colour sprite may become white in a 256-colour sprite).

Picture formats

ChangeFSI can convert many types of images to a sprite or JPEG file. These include the PC graphics formats TIFF, PCX (though not 1 bpp images, which may be converted to blank white sprites), PIC and IMG, the Amiga format IFF, the Compuserv GIF format and the JPEG format. A full list of filetypes that can be converted is given in Chapter 4.

ChangeFSI can also convert sprites or JPEGs from one display resolution into another. You should, however, be careful as every time you recompress a JPEG file it loses some information. You are better processing a file first, and only saving it as a JPEG once you have finished.

Additional information

The information in this document gives an overview of how ChangeFSI works from the desktop. Additional information in the form of text files is held within the application. If you want to read these files, Shift Double-click with SELECT on ChangeFSI to open the application directory, then open its Documents directory where you will find a number of text files.

These files are -

• CmdBasUse. Syntax for using ChangeFSI from the command line, and for calling it from BASIC programs.
• DesktopUse. Instructions for using ChangeFSI from the desktop.
• Formats. Details of formats that ChangeFSI can use as input or output.
• JPEGInfo. Standard information about JPEG processing (taken from the Independent JPEG Group's JPEG software).
• Theory. Theoretical explanation of how ChangeFSI works, likely only to be of interest to advanced users.
• 256sprites. Information for programmers about creating, recognising and displaying a sprite with a 256-entry palette.

This documentation is copyright 3QD Developments Ltd 2013 and may not be reproduced or published in any form without the copyright holder's permission. RISC OS is subject to continuous development and improvement as such all information is provided by 3QD Developments Ltd in good faith and is believed to be correct at the time of publication E&OE. 3QD Developments Ltd cannot accept any liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of any information provided as part of the RISC OS Documentation.

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