476 lines
20 KiB
Text
476 lines
20 KiB
Text
Tux Paint
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version 0.9.16
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Extending Tux Paint
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Copyright 2002-2006 by Bill Kendrick and others
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New Breed Software
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bill@newbreedsoftware.com
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http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/tuxpaint/
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June 14, 2002 - September 3, 2006
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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If you wish to add or change things like Brushes and Rubber Stamps used by
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Tux Paint, you can do it fairly easily by simply putting or removing files
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on your hard disk.
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Note: You'll need to restart Tux Paint for the changes to take effect.
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Where Files Go
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Standard Files
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Tux Paint looks for its various data files in its 'data' directory.
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Linux and Unix
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Where this directory goes depends on what value was set for
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"DATA_PREFIX" when Tux Paint was built. See INSTALL.txt for details.
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By default, though, the directory is:
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/usr/local/share/tuxpaint/
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If you installed from a package, it is more likely to be:
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/usr/share/tuxpaint/
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Windows
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Tux Paint looks for a directory called 'data' in the same directory
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as the executable. This is the directory that the installer used
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when installing Tux Paint e.g.:
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C:\Program Files\TuxPaint\data
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Mac OS X
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Tux Paint stores its data files inside the "Tux Paint" icon (which
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is actually a special kind of folder on Mac OS X). The following
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steps explain how to get to the folders within:
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1. Bring up a 'context' menu by holding the [Control] key and
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clicking the Tux Paint icon the in Finder. (If you have a mouse
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with more than one button, you can simply right-click the icon.)
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2. Select "Show Contents" from the menu that appears. A new Finder
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window will appear with a folder inside called "Contents."
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3. Open the "Contents" folder and open the "Resources" folder found
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inside.
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4. There, you will find the "starters", "stamps" and "brushes"
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folders. Adding new content to these folders will make the
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content available to any user that launches this copy (icon) of
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Tux Paint.
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Note: If you install a newer version of Tux Paint (by replacing its
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icon), you will lose changes made by following the instructions
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above, so keep backups of your new content (stamps, brushes, etc.).
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Tux Paint also looks for files in a "TuxPaint" folder that you can
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place in your system's "Application Support" folder (found under
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"Library" at the root of your hard disk):
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/Library/Application Support/TuxPaint/
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It also looks for files in the user's "Preferences" folder, e.g.:
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/Users/(user name)/Library/Preferences/TuxPaint/brushes/
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Personal Files
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You can also create brushes, stamps, fonts and 'starters' in your own
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directory (folder) for Tux Paint to find.
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Windows
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Your personal Tux Paint folder is stored in your "Application Data".
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For example, on newer Windows (set up for an English-speaking user):
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C:\Documents and Settings\(user name)\Application Data\TuxPaint\
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Mac OS X
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Your personal Tux Paint folder is stored in your "Library" folder:
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/Users/(user name)/Library/Application Support/ Tux Paint/
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Linux and Unix
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Your personal Tux Paint directory is "$(HOME)/.tuxpaint/" (also
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known as "~/.tuxpaint/".
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That is, if your home directory is "/home/karl", then your Tux Paint
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directory is "/home/karl/.tuxpaint/".
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Don't forget the period (".") before the 'tuxpaint'!
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To add brushes, stamps fonts, and 'starters,' create subdirectories
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under your personal Tux Paint directory named "brushes", "stamps",
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"fonts" and "starters" respectively.
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(For example, if you created a brush named "flower.png", you would put
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it in "~/.tuxpaint/brushes/" under Linux or Unix.)
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Brushes
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The brushes used for drawing with the 'Brush' and 'Lines' tools in
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Tux Paint are simply PNG image files.
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The alpha (transparency) of the PNG image is used to determine the shape
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of the brush, which means that the shape can be 'anti-aliased' and even
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partially-transparent!
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Greyscale pixels in the brush PNG will be drawn using the
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currently-selected color in Tux Paint. Color pixels will be tinted.
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Brush images should be no wider than 40 pixels across and no taller than
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40 pixels high. (i.e., the maximum size can be 40 x 40.)
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Brush Options
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Aside from a graphical shape, brushes can also be given other
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attributes. To do this, you need to create a 'data file' for the
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brush.
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A brush data file is simply a text file containing the options.
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The file has the same name as the PNG image, but a ".dat" extension.
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(e.g., "brush.png"'s data file is the text file "brush.dat" in the
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same directory.)
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Animated Brushes
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As of Tux Paint version 0.9.16, you may now create animated brushes.
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As the brush is used, each frame of the animation is drawn.
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Lay each frame out across a wide PNG image. For example, if your
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brush is 30x30 and you have 5 frames, the image should be 150x30.
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Add a line containing the line "frames=N" to the brush's data file,
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where N is the number of frames in the brush.
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Directional Brushes
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As of Tux Paint version 0.9.16, you may now create directional
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brushes. As the brush is used, different shapes are drawn, depending
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on the direction the brush is going.
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The directional shapes are divided into a 3x3 square in a PNG image.
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For example, if your brush is 30x30, the image should be 90x90, and
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each of the direction's shapes placed in a 3x3 grid. The center
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region is used for no motion. The top right is used for motion
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that's both up, and to the right. And so on.
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Add a line containing the line "directional" to the brush's data
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file.
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Animated Directional Brushes
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You may mix both animated and directional features into one brush.
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Use both options ("frames=N" and "directional"), in separate lines
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in the brush's "".dat" file.
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Lay the brush out so that each 3x3 set of directional shapes are
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laid out across a wide PNG image. For example, if the brush is 30x30
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and there are 5 frames, it would be 450x90. (The leftmost 150x90
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pixels of the image represent the 9 direction shapes for the first
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frame, for example.)
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Place the brush image PNGs (and any data text files) in the "brushes"
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directory.
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Note: If your new brushes all come out as solid squares or rectangles,
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it's because you forgot to use alpha transparency! See the
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documentation file "PNG.txt" for more information and tips.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Stamps
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All stamp-related files go in the "stamps" directory. It's useful to
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create subdirectories and sub-subdirectories there to organize the
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stamps. (For example, you can have a "holidays" folder with
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"halloween" and "christmas" sub-folders.)
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Images
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Rubber Stamps in Tux Paint can be made up of a number of separate
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files. The one file that is required is, of course, the picture
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itself.
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The Stamps used by Tux Paint are PNG pictures. They can be
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full-color or greyscale. The alpha (transparency) of the PNG is used
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to determine the actual shape of the picture (otherwise you'll stamp
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a large rectangle on your drawings).
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The PNGs can be any size, but in practice, a 100 pixels wide by
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100 pixels tall (100 x 100) is quite large for Tux Paint.
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Note: If your new stamps all have solid rectangular-shaped outlines
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of a solid color (e.g., white or black), it's because you forgot to
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use alpha transparency! See the documentation file "PNG.txt" for
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more information and tips.
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Advanced Users: The Advanced Stamps HOWTO describes, in detail, how
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to make images which will scale perfectly when used as stamps in
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Tux Paint.
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Description Text
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Text (".TXT") files with the same name as the PNG. (e.g.,
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"picture.png"'s description is stored in "picture.txt" in the same
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directory.)
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The first line of the text file will be used as the US English
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description of the stamp's image. It must be encoded in UTF-8.
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Language Support
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Additional lines can be added to the text file to provide
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translations of the description, to be displayed when Tux Paint is
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running in a different locale (like French or Spanish).
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The beginning of the line should correspond to the language code
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of the language in question (e.g., "fr" for French, and "zh_tw"
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for Traditional Chinese), followed by ".utf8=" and the translated
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description (encoded in UTF-8).
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There are scripts in the "po" directory for converting the text
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files to PO format (and back) for easy translation to different
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languages. Therefore you should never add or change translations
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in the .txt files directly.
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If no translation is available for the language Tux Paint is
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currently running in, the US English text is used.
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Windows Users
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Use NotePad or WordPad to edit/create these files. Be sure to save
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them as Plain Text, and make sure they have ".txt" at the end of
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the filename...
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Sound Effects
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WAVE (".WAV") files with the same name as the PNG. (e.g.,
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"picture.png"'s sound effect is the sound "picture.wav" in the same
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directory.)
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Language Support
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For sounds for different locales (e.g., if the sound is someone
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saying a word, and you want translated versions of the word said),
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also create WAV files with the locale's label in the filename, in
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the form: "STAMP_LOCALE.wav"
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"picture.png"'s sound effect, when Tux Paint is run in Spanish
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mode, would be "picture_es.wav". In French mode, "picture_fr.wav".
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And so on...
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If no localized sound effect can be loaded, Tux Paint will attempt
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to load the 'default' sound file. (e.g., "picture.wav")
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Stamp Options
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Aside from a graphical shape, a textual description, and a sound
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effect, stamps can also be given other attributes. To do this, you
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need to create a 'data file' for the stamp.
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A stamp data file is simply a text file containing the options.
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The file has the same name as the PNG image, but a ".dat" extension.
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(e.g., "picture.png"'s data file is the text file "picture.dat" in
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the same directory.)
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Colored Stamps
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Stamps can be made to be either "colorable" or "tintable."
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Colorable
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"Colorable" stamps they work much like brushes - you pick the
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stamp to get the shape, and then pick the color you want it to
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be. (Symbol stamps, like the mathematical and musical ones, are
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an example.)
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Nothing about the original image is used except the transparency
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(from "alpha" channel). The color of the stamp comes out solid.
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Add a line containing the word "colorable" to the stamp's data
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file.
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Tinted
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"Tinted" stamps are similar to "colorable" ones, except the
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details of the original image are kept. (To put it technically,
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the original image is used, but its hue is changed, based on the
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currently-selected color.)
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Add a line containing the word "tintable" to the stamp's data
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file.
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Tinting Options:
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Depending on the contents of your stamp, you might want to
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have Tux Paint use one of a numer of methods when tinting it.
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Add one of the following lines to the stamp's data file:
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"tinter=normal" (default)
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This is the normal tinting mode.
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"tinter=anyhue"
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This is ???.
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"tinter=narrow"
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This is ???.
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"tinter=vector"
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This is ???.
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Unalterable Stamps
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By default, a stamp can be flipped upside down, shown as a mirror
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image, or both. This is done using the control buttons below the
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stamp selector, at the lower right side of the screen in
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Tux Paint.
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Sometimes, it doesn't make sense for a stamp to be flippable or
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mirrored; for example, stamps of letters or numbers. Sometimes
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stamps are symmetrical, so letting the user flip or mirror them
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isn't useful.
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To make a stamp un-flippable, add the option "noflip" to the
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stamp's data file.
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To keep a stamp from being mirrored, add a line containing the
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word "nomirror" to the stamp's data file.
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Initial Stamp Size
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By default, Tux Paint assumes that your stamp is sized
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appropriately for unscaled display on a 608x472 canvas. This is
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the original Tux Paint canvas size, provided by a 640x480 screen.
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Tux Paint will then adjust the stamp according to the current
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canvas size and, if enabled, the user's stamp size controls.
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If your stamp would be too big or too small, you can specify a
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scale factor. If your stamp would be 2.5 times as wide (or tall)
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as it should be, add the option "scale 40%" or "scale 5/2" or
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"scale 2.5" or "scale 2:5" to your image. You may include an "="
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if you wish, as in "scale=40%".
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Windows Users
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You can use NotePad or WordPad to create these file. Be sure to
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save it as Plain Text, and make sure the filename has ".dat" at
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the end, and not ".txt"...
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Pre-Mirrored Images
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In some cases, you may wish to provide a pre-drawn version of a
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stamp's mirror-image. For example, imagine a picture of a fire truck
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with the words "Fire Department" written across the side. You
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probably do not want that text to appear backwards when the image is
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flipped!
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To create a mirrored version of a stamp that you want Tux Paint to
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use, rather than mirroring one on its own, simply create a second
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".png" graphics file with the same name, except with the string
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"_mirror" before the filename extension.
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For example, for the stamp "truck.png" you would create another file
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named "truck_mirror.png", which will be used when the stamp is
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mirrored (rather than using a backwards version of 'truck.png').
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Fonts
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The fonts used by Tux Paint are TrueType Fonts (TTF).
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Simply place them in the "fonts" directory. Tux Paint will load the
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font and provide four different sizes in the 'Letters' selector when
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using the 'Text' tool.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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'Starters'
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'Starter' images appear in the 'Open' dialog, along with pictures
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you've created. They have a green button background, instead of blue.
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Unlike your saved pictures, however, when you select and open a
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'starter,' you're actually creating a new drawing. Instead of being
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blank, though, the new drawing contains the contents of the 'starter.'
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Additionally, as you edit your new picture, the contents of the
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original 'starter' affect it.
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Coloring-Book Style
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The most basic kind of 'starter' is similar to a picture in a
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coloring book. It's an outline of a shape which you can then color
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in and add details to. In Tux Paint, as you draw, type text, or
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stamp stamps, the outline remains 'above' what you draw. You can
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erase the parts of the drawing you made, but you can't erase the
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outline.
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To create this kind of 'starter' image, simply draw an outlined
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picture in a paint program, make the rest of the graphic transparent
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(that will come out as white in Tux Paint), and save it as a PNG
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format file.
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Scene-Style
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Along with the 'coloring-book' style overlay, you can also provide a
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separate background image as part of a 'starter' picture. The
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overlay acts the same: it can't be drawn over, erased, or affected
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by 'Magic' tools. However, the background can be!
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When the 'Eraser' tool is used on a picture based on this kind of
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'starter' image, rather than turning the canvas white, it returns
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that part of the canvas to the original background picture.
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By creating both an overlay and a background, you can create a
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'starter' which simulates depth. Imagine a background that shows the
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ocean, and an overlay that's a picture of a reef. You can then draw
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(or stamp) fish in the picture. They'll appear in the ocean, but
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never 'in front of' the reef.
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To create this kind of 'starter' picture, simply create an overlay
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(with alpha transparency) as described above, and save it as a PNG.
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Then create another image (without transparency), and save it with
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the same filename, but with "-back" appended to the name. (e.g.,
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"reef-back.png" would be the background ocean picture that
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corresponds to the "reef.png" overlay, or foreground.)
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The 'starter' images should be the same size as Tux Paint's canvas. In
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the default 640x480 mode, that is 448x376 pixels. If you're using
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800x600 mode, it should be 608x496. (It should be 192 pixels less
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wide, and 104 pixels less tall than the resolution.)
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Place them in the "starters" directory. When the 'Open' dialog is
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accessed in Tux Paint, the 'starter' images will appear at the
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beginning of the list with a green background.
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Note: 'Starters' can't be saved over from within Tux Paint, since
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loading a 'starter' is really like creating a new image. (Instead of
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being blank, though there's already something there to work with.) The
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'Save' command simply creates a new picture, like it would if the
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'New' command had been used.
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Note: 'Starters' are 'attached' to saved pictures, via a small text
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file that has the same name as the saved file, but with ".dat" as the
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extension. This allows the overlay and background, if any, to continue
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to affect the drawing even after Tux Paint has been quit, or another
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picture loaded or started. (In other words, if you base a drawing on a
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'starter' image, it will always be affected by it.)
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