-=-=-= ColorPad v2.3 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

     Real freeware with no annoyances.  This application was created
 in order to assist graphic designers of all sorts, from beginer to
 expert in their development of computer graphics.  ColorPad can
 capture colors from the screen, or generate them on the fly.  Many
 more options are supported from Anti-Dithering to skins support.
 Thanks for trying out ColorPad, hope you enjoy it!


                     ----=-  :D  :o  :U   -=----

 USAGE
 -----

  - Menu buttons

     From left to right the top menu buttons are:

      * Snap to screen - Makes ColorPad dock to the screen edge
      * Always on Top  - Makes ColorPad always stay on top of other
                         windows
      * Minimize       - Gee, I have no clue :)
      * Close          - I don't know really, some reports say
                         that this might cause the application
                         to stop running, but those reports are
                         not confirmed...


  - Color control buttons and keyboard commands/shortcuts

    * Keyboard Commands

       r  - less red
       R  - more red
       g  - less green
       G  - more green
       b  - less blue
       B  - more blue
       w  - darker
       W  - lighter

       Ctrl-c       - Copy the color value to the clipboard. (in
                      RRGGBB hex format)
       Ctrl-v       - Pastes the color value from the clipboard into
                      ColorPad (value must be in RRGGBB hex format)
       Ctrl-x       - Same as Ctrl-c
       Ctrl-z       - Undoes the last color change
       Shift-Insert - same as Ctrl-v (paste color)
       Ctrl-Insert  - same as Ctrl-c (copy color)

       Ctrl-s       - Load a user skin
       Ctrl-d       - Load a default skin
       Ctrl-p       - Turns the splash screen on/off

       Ctrl-t       - Put ColorPad in System Tray/Task Bar
       Ctrl-m       - Minimize ColorPad
       Ctrl-q       - Quit ColorPad


    * Mouse Usage

      1. Changing The Current Color:
           Click on the little arrows next to the numbers.  You
           can also click on an arrow, and then move the mouse
           while still holding down the mouse button.

      2. Copying The Current Color To The Clipboard:
           Right-clicking on the color screen will copy the
           current color in the hex format 'RRGGBB' to the
           clipboard.  You may also right-click on any of the text
           values to copy them to the clipboard individualy.

      3. Pasting To ColorPad:
           If you currently have a hex color value in the clipboard
           (it must be in  the RRGGBB format), then if you
           double-click (left-click) on the color screen, the color
           will be loaded into ColorPad.

      4. Eye Dropper:
           To get any color currently on the screen, just left-
           click on the color screen and hold down the button until
           the cursor turns into a crosshair.  At this point, you
           can now move your mouse over any part of the screen.  The
           bottom part of ColorPad's color screen will be updated
           with the color currently under the crosshair, and that
           color's value will be displayed in the text fields.  Once
           you find the color that pleased you in the first place,
           let go of the left mouse button and the color will be
           sucessfully loaded.

      5. Oops, you made a booboo:
           If at any point of changing the color while you are
           dragging the mouse (while getting a color from the screen
           or editing it with the buttons) you can Right-click
           (while the left mouse button is still held down) and the
           current operation will be canceled.


                     ----=-  :P  8)  :I   -=----

 FEATURES
 --------

  - Split Screen:
     If this setting is checked, only part of the screen will be
     used to show you a selected color (when getting a color with
     the eyedropper tool, or changing the color by dragging a
     button.)  This can be helpfull for when you wish to compair
     the previous color with the new one without making a selection.
     To activate this feature, right-click somewhere on ColorPad
     (not the color screen or the text fields) and go to:
     Settings - Eyedropper - Split Screen.

  - Anti-Dither:
     Anti-Dithering allows you to get an "average" of the
     surrounding pixels when you are getting a pixel from the
     screen using the eyedropper tool.  To activate this feature,
     right-click somewhere on ColorPad (not the color screen or the
     text fields) and go to: Settings - Eyedropper - Anti-Dither.

     Here are the Anti-Dither options and what they mean:

      None   - This will let you grab the exact color shown on the
               screen.  
      Small  - This will look at the pixels right next to the
               selected pixel and give you back an average of all
               those colors.
      Medium - Does the same as 'Small', but over a wider area.
               (7x7 pixels box)
      Large  - Same as 'Medium', but with yet a larger area.
               (13x13 pixels box)

  - Zoom:
     The zoom feature will let you zoom in on the area of the
     screen, over which your cursor is when you are getting a color
     with the eyedropper tool.  To get to this feature, you must
     right-click somewhere on ColorPad and select:
     Settings - Eyedropper.

     Here are the Zoom options and what they mean:

      Zoom 2x  - This will show pixels 2 times their normal size
                 in the color screen
      Zoom 4x  - This will show pixels 4 times their normal size
                 in the color screen
      Zoom 8x  - This will show pixels 8 times their normal size
                 in the color screen
      Zoom Max - This will show the selected pixel's color in
                 the color screen

  - Color Format:
     The color format lets you work with either a HEX or a
     Decimal format.

     While using the HEX format, you can copy/paste color
     that is in the "RRGGBB" format like -> 6C758E

     The Decimal format will recognise the rrr,ggg,bbb
     text format (which is usefull for working with .ini files
     etc.)  A example of this format would be -> 45,123,242
     ( spaces between the ,'s are allowed :) )


                     ----=-  :l  8|  %D   -=----

 SKIN USAGE
 ----------

  - Support:
     * Skins are only supported in versions 1.7 and up.
     * Transparent skins are only supported in versions 1.8 and up.
     * Skins can only change the color of the text fields in
       versions 1.9c or greater.
     * Freestyle skins are only supported in versions 2.0 and up.

  - Loading Skins:
      To load a skin, just drag and drop the .bmp (bitmap) image
      file onto the ColorPad window, or you can right click
      (somewhere NOT on the color screen or numbers) and go to
      Settings - User Skin and pick your bitmap image from there.
      You may also press Ctrl-s to load a skin and Ctrl-d to
      load the default skin.

  - Loading The Default Skin:
      Hit Ctrl-d or right-click on ColorPad (NOT on the color
      screen/text) and select: Settings - Default Skin

  - Downloading Skins:
      Right now, the only places I know of that have ColorPad
      skins are:

       My Homepage:
         http://www.entic.net/~vmoya/
          (Go to downloads-software, under the ColorPad listing.)
          (http://www.entic.net/~vmoya/download_software.html)

       Section 8
         http://www.section8.com/
          (Under the ColorPad listing)
          (http://www.section8.com/colorpad/)

       Skinz.Org:
         http://www.skinz.org/
          (Under the ColorPad listing)


                     ----=-  :O  ;)  =]   -=----

 SKIN CREATION
 -------------

    Skin creation is rather long to explain here so I've stuck
  it in the "skinning.txt" file that should have come with this
  package.  Don't take the fact that this requires a seperate
  txt file as a bad sign, I just wanted to make this file a little
  shorter.  Skinning ColorPad is actually an easy thing to do, even
  if it's the first time you've skinned anything!


                     ----=-  :T  :Y  (c:  -=----

 LAST NOTES
 ----------

    A possible upcomming feature is "Dock to window(s)" where
  ColorPad can be set to snap to other windows currently visible.

    If you have any suggestions to make, I'm all ears!  I can't
  promise that your suggestions will be added, but I'll just say
  that if it wasn't for all the people that gave me awesome
  feedback, and helped me beta test this app, ColorPad woudn't be
  where it is today.  So let me know! :) (contact information can
  be found down below)


                     ----=-  :)  ;P  :|   -=----

 VERSION INFO
 ------------

  v2.3  - Added support for decimal number format (rrr,ggg,bbb)
           * Big thanks to Doug Jones for the idea!
          Fixed some really minor bugs with about window.
          Tidied up the code a bit to be cleaner (for me.)
          Updated the skinning.txt file with HEX numbers

  v2.2  - Updated the skin loading algorythms.
          Fixed clipping text bug when using big (system) fonts.
          Updated color controls to allow vertical movement.
          Added an about box.
          Updated the task-bar title to include current color.

  v2.1  - Fixed freeform text field bug.
          Fixed default text color problem.
          Updated Zoom feature. (Now centers in screen region.
                                 Also, off-screen is now shown
                                 as black.  This was previously
                                 shown as "garbage pixels")

  v2.0  - Added freestyle skinning support.
          Added system tray support.
          Added splash screen option.
          Added more keyboard shortcuts.
          Fixed numerous, various bugs.

  v1.9c - Added Text color support for skins.

  v1.9b - Added split screen option.
          Added anti-dithering options.
          Added zoom-in feature/options.

  v1.9  - Added version info. (Right-click on colorpad.exe, then
                               go to Properties - Version tab.)
          Added Dynamic docking. (Now snaps to the screen edge
                                  where the skin ends.)

  v1.8  - Added transparency support for skins.
          Added a popup menu.

  v1.7  - Added skin support. (Not supported in older Windows NT
                               versions.)

  v1.6  - Fixed cut/paste bug.

  v1.5  - Added eye dropper support.
          Added cut/paste support.
          Added registry save state.

  v1.0  - Initial release.


                     ----=-  :(  o)  :*   -=----


 CONTACT INFORMATION
 -------------------

  Email Addresses:
    vmoya@cats.ucsc.edu
    vmoya@entic.net
    rampher@yahoo.com

  Homepage locations:
    http://www.entic.net/~vmoya/index.html
    http://www.geocities.com/rampher/index.html
    http://home.earthlink.net/~fmoya/val/index.html
  Section8.Com Mirror:
    http://section8.com/colorpad 

  AOL Instant Messenger (AIM):
   Rethan

  ICQ:
   354348

  IRC:
   Like AIM, my nick is (most of the time) Rethan while I'm
   there...  Which isn't all that often nowadays.  When I'm
   on, though, I can usually be found on EFnet in channels
   liks #skinnerz and #bayarea.

  Skinz.org:
   I am sorta active on the skinz.org message board.  This is a
   great way to give me feedback, and is a pretty good place to
   contact me.


                     ----=-  :6  :Q  :U   -=----

 DISCLAIMER:
 -----------

    I am not responsible for what you do with this app, nor
  am I responsible for any damage it may cause to your system.
  I am, also, not responsible for the horrible colors that you may
  choose to use.

  Yeah yeah, I know.  I won't own up... at least it's free ya
  slaker!@#$)*$#@ :P

                    ColorPad is copyrighted to Valery Moya, 2001.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= End Document -=-