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Tux Paint
version 0.9.13
A simple drawing program for children
Copyright 2003 by Bill Kendrick
New Breed Software
bill@newbreedsoftware.com
http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/tuxpaint/
June 14, 2002 - December 23, 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------
About
"Tux Paint" is a drawing program for young children. It provides a
simple interface and fixed canvas size, and provides access to previous
images using a thumbnail browser (e.g., no access to the underlying
file-system).
Unlike popular drawing programs like "The GIMP," it has a very limited
tool-set. However, it provides a much simpler interface, and has
entertaining, child-oriented additions such as sound effects.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
License:
Tux Paint is an Open Source project, Free Software released under the
GNU General Public License (GPL). It is free, and the 'source code'
behind the program is available. (This allows others to add features,
fix bugs, and use parts of the program in their own GPL'd software.)
See COPYING.txt for the full text of the GPL license.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Objectives:
Easy and Fun
Tux Paint is meant to be a simple drawing program for young
children. It is not meant as a general-purpose drawing tool. It
is meant to be fun and easy to use. Sound effects and a cartoon
character help let the user know what's going on, and keeps them
entertained. There are also extra-large cartoon-style mouse
pointer shapes.
Extensibility
Tux Paint is extensible. Brushes and "rubber stamp" shapes can
be dropped in and pulled out. For example, a teacher can drop in
a collection of animal shapes and ask their students to draw an
ecosystem. Each shape can have a sound which is played, and
textual facts which are displayed, when the child selects the
shape.
Portability
Tux Paint is portable among various computer platforms: Windows,
Macintosh, Linux, etc. The interface looks the same among them
all. Tux Paint runs suitably well on older systems (like a
Pentium 133), and can be built to run better on slow systems.
Simplicity
There is no direct access to the computer's underlying
intricacies. The current image is kept when the program quits,
and reappears when it is restarted. Saving images requires no
need to create filenames or use the keyboard. Opening an image
is done by selecting it from a collection of thumbnails. Access
to other files on the computer is restricted.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Documentation
Other documentation included with Tux Paint (in the "docs"
folder/directory) include:
* AUTHORS.txt
List of authors and contributors
* CHANGES.txt
Summary of changed between releases
* COPYING.txt
Copying license (The GPL)
* INSTALL.txt
Instructions for compiling/installing, when applicable
* PNG.txt
Notes on creating PNG format images for use in Tux Paint
* README.txt
(This file)
* TODO.txt
A list of pending features or bugs needing fixed
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Using Tux Paint
Building Tux Paint
To compile Tux Paint from source, please refer to INSTALL.txt.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Loading Tux Paint
Linux/Unix Users
Run the following command at a shell prompt (e.g., "$"):
$ tuxpaint
It is also possible to make a launcher button or icon (e.g. in GNOME
or KDE under Linux). See your desktop environment's documentation
for details...
If any errors occur, they will be displayed on the terminal (to
"stderr").
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Windows Users
[Icon]
Tux Paint
Simply double-click the "Tux Paint" icon on the desktop (which was
created for you by the installer), or double-click the
"tuxpaint.exe" icon in the 'Tux Paint' folder on your computer.
If any errors occur, they will be stored in a file named
"stderr.txt" in the Tux Paint folder.
See "INSTALL.txt" for details on customizing the 'Shortcut' icon to
Tux Paint, which lets you easily set program options (via the
command-line).
To run Tux Paint and provide command-line options directly, you will
need to run "tuxpaint.exe" from an MSDOS Prompt window. (See
"INSTALL.txt" for details.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Options
Configuration File
You can create a simple configuration file for Tux Paint, which it
will read each time you start it up.
The file is simply a plain text file containing the options you want
enabled:
Linux Users
The file you should create is called ".tuxpaintrc" and it should
be placed in your home directory. (a.k.a. "~/.tuxpaintrc" or
"$HOME/.tuxpaintrc")
Before this file is read, a system-wide configuration file is
read. (By default, this configuration has no settings enabled.) It
is located at:
/etc/tuxpaint/tuxpaint.conf
You can disable reading of this file altogether, leaving the
settings as defaults (which can then be overridden by your
".tuxpaintrc" file and/or command-line arguments) by using the
command-line option:
--nosysconfig
Windows Users
The file you should create is called "tuxpaint.cfg" and it should
be placed in Tux Paint's folder.
You can use NotePad or WordPad to create this file. Be sure to
save it as Plain Text, and make sure the filename doesn't have
".txt" at the end...
Available Options
The following settings can be set in the configuration file.
(Command-line settings will override these. See below.)
fullscreen=yes
Run the program in full screen mode, rather than in a
window.
800x600=yes
Run the program at 800x600 resolution (EXPERIMENTAL),
rather than the smaller 640x480 resolution.
nosound=yes
Disable sound effects.
noquit=yes
Disable the on-screen "Quit" button. (Pressing the
[Escape] key or clicking the window's close button still
works.)
noprint=yes
Disable the printing feature.
printdelay=SECONDS
Restrict printing so that printing can occur only once
every SECONDS seconds.
printcommand=COMMAND
(Linux and Unix only)
Use the command COMMAND to print a PNG file. If not set,
the default command is:
pngtopnm | pnmtops | lpr
Which converts the PNG to a NetPBM 'portable anymap', then
converts that to a PostScript file, and finally sends that
to the printer, using the "lpr" command.
printcfg=yes
(Windows only)
Tux Paint will use a printer configuration file when
printing. Push the [ALT] key while clicking the 'Print'
button in Tux Paint to cause a Windows print dialog window
to appear.
(Note: This only works when not running Tux Paint in
fullscreen mode.) Any configuration changes made in this
dialog will be saved to the file "userdata/print.cfg", and
used again, as long as the "printcfg" option is set.
simpleshapes=yes
Disable the rotation step of the 'Shape' tool. Click, drag
and release is all that will be needed to draw a shape.
uppercase=yes
All text will be rendered only in uppercase (e.g., "Brush"
will be "BRUSH"). Useful for children who can read, but
who have only learned uppercase letters so far.
grab=yes
Tux Paint will attempt to 'grab' the mouse and keyboard,
so that the mouse is confined to Tux Paint's window, and
nearly all keyboard input is passed directly to it.
This is useful to disable operating system actions that
could get the user out of Tux Paint [Alt]-[Tab] window
cycling, [Ctrl]-[Escape], etc. This is especially useful
in fullscreen mode.
noshortcuts=yes
This disable keyboard shortcuts (e.g., [Ctrl]-[S] for
save, [Ctrl]-[N] for a new image, etc.)
This is useful to prevent unwanted commands from being
activated by children who aren't experienced with
keyboards.
nowheelmouse=yes
This disables support for the wheel on mice that have it.
(Normally, the wheel will scroll the selector menu on the
right.)
nofancycursors=yes
This disables the fancy mouse pointer shapes in Tux Paint,
and uses your environment's normal mouse pointer.
In some enviornments, the fancy cursors cause problems.
Use this option to avoid them.
nooutlines=yes
In this mode, much simpler outlines and 'rubber-band'
lines are displayed when using the Lines, Shapes, Stamps
and Eraser tools.
This can help when Tux Paint is run on very slow
computers, or displayed on a remote X-Window display.
nostamps=yes
This option tells Tux Paint to not load any rubber stamp
images, which in turn ends up disabling the Stamps tool.
This can speed up Tux Paint when it first loads up, and
reduce memory usage while it's running. Of course, no
stamps will be available at all.
nostampcontrols=yes
Some images in the Stamps tool can be mirrored, flipped,
and/or have their size changed. This option disables the
controls, and only provides the basic stamps.
mirrorstamps=yes
For stamps that can be mirrored, this option sets them to
their mirrored shape by default.
This can be useful for people who prefer things
right-to-left, rather than left-to-right.
keyboard=yes
This allows the keyboard arrow keys to be used to control
the mouse pointer. (e.g., for mouseless environments.)
The [Arrow] keys move the mouse pointer. [Space] acts as
the mouse button.
savedir=DIRECTORY
Use this option to change where Tux Paint saves pictures.
By default, this is "~/.tuxpaint/saved/" under Linux and
Unix, and "userdata\" under Windows.
This can be useful in a Windows lab, where Tux Paint is
installed on a server, and children run it from
workstations. You can set savedir to be a folder in their
home directory. (e.g., "H:\tuxpaint\")
Note: When specifying a Windows drive (e.g., "H:\"), you
must also specify a subdirectory.
Example: savedir=Z:\tuxpaint\
saveover=yes
This disables the "Save over the old version...?" prompt
when saving an existing file. With this option, the older
version will always be replaced by the new version,
automatically.
saveover=new
This also disables the "Save over the old version...?"
prompt when saving an existing file. This option, however,
will always save a new file, rather than overwrite the
older version.
saveover=ask
(This option is redundant, since this is the default.)
When saving an existing drawing, you will be first asked
whether to save over the older version or not.
lang=LANGUAGE
Run Tux Paint in one of the supported languages. Possible
choice for LANGUAGE currently include:
+-------------------------------------------------+
|english |american-english | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|basque |euskara | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|bokmal | | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|british-english |british | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|brazilian-portuguese|portuges-brazilian|brazilian|
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|catalan |catala | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|chinese | | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|czech |cesky | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|danish |dansk | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|dutch | | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|finnish |suomi | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|french |francais | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|german |deutsch | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|greek | | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|hebrew | | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|hungarian |magyar | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|icelandic |islenska | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|indonesian |bahasa-indonesia | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|italian |italiano | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|japanese | | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|korean | | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|lithuanian |lietuviu | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|malay | | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|norwegian |nynorsk | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|polish |polski | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|portuguese |portugues | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|romanian | | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|russian | | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|spanish |espanol | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|slovak | | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|swedish |svenska | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|tamil | | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|turkish | | |
|--------------------+------------------+---------|
|walloon | | |
+-------------------------------------------------+
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Overriding System Config. Options using .tuxpaintrc
If any of the above options are set in
"/etc/tuxpaint/tuxpaint.config", you can override them in your own
"~/.tuxpaintrc" file.
For true/false options, like "noprint" and "grab", you can simply
say they equal 'no' in your "~/.tuxpaintrc" file:
noprint=no
uppercase=no
Or, you can use options similar to the command-line override
options described below. For example:
print=yes
mixedcase=yes
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Command-Line Options
Options can also be issued on the command-line when you start
Tux Paint.
--fullscreen
--800x600
--nosound
--noquit
--noprint
--printdelay=SECONDS
--printcfg
--simpleshapes
--uppercase
--grab
--noshortcuts
--nowheelmouse
--nofancycursors
--nooutlines
--nostamps
--nostampcontrols
--mirrorstamps
--keyboard
--savedir DIRECTORY
--saveover
--saveovernew
--lang LANGUAGE
These enable or correspond to the configuration file
options described above.
--windowed
--640x480
--sound
--quit
--print
--printdelay=0
--noprintcfg
--complexshapes
--mixedcase
--dontgrab
--shortcuts
--wheelmouse
--fancycursors
--outlines
--stamps
--stampcontrols
--dontmirrorstamps
--mouse
--saveoverask
These options can be used to override any settings made in
the configuration file. (If the option isn't set in the
configuration file(s), no overriding option is necessary.)
--locale locale
Run Tux Paint in one of the support languages. See the
"Choosing a Different Language" section below for the
locale strings (e.g., "de_DE@euro" for German) to use.
(If your locale is already set, e.g. with the "$LANG"
environment variable, this option is not necessary, since
Tux Paint honors your environment's setting, if possible.)
--nosysconfig
Under Linux and Unix, this prevents the system-wide
configuration file, "/etc/tuxpaint/tuxpaint.conf", from
being read.
Only your own configuration file, "~/.tuxpaintrc", if it
exists, will be used.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Command-Line Informational Options
The following options display some informative text on the screen.
Tux Paint doesn't actually start up and run afterwards, however.
--version
Display the version number and date of the copy of
Tux Paint you are running. It also lists what, if any,
compile-time options were set. (See INSTALL.txt and
FAQ.txt).
--copying
Show brief license information about copying Tux Paint.
--usage
Display the list of available command-line options.
--help
Display brief help on using Tux Paint.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Choosing a Different Language
Tux Paint has been translated into a number of languages. To access
the translations, you can use the "--lang" option on the
command-line to set the language (e.g. "--lang spanish") or use the
"lang=" setting in the configuration file (e.g., "lang=spanish").
Tux Paint also honors your environment's current locale. (You can
override it on the command-line using the "--locale" option (see
above).)
The following languages are supported:
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| Locale Code | Language | Language |
| | (native name) | (English name) |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|C | |English |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|ca_ES |Catalan |Catal`a |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|cs_CZ |Cesky |Czech |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|da_DK |Dansk |Danish |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|de_DE@euro |Deutsch |German |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|el_GR.UTF8 (*) | |Greek |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|en_GB | |British English |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|es_ES@euro |Espanol |Spanish |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|eu_ES |Basque |Euskara |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|fi_FI@euro |Suomi |Finnish |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|fr_FR@euro |Franc,ais |French |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|he_IL (*) | |Hebrew |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|hu_HU |Magyar |Hungarian |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|id_ID |Bahasa Indonesia |Indonesian |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|is_IS |Islenska |Icelandic |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|it_IT@euro |Italiano |Italian |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|ja_JP.UTF-8 (*)| |Japanese |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|ko_KR.UTF-8 (*)| |Korean |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|lt_LT.UTF-8 |Lietuviu |Lithuanian |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|ms_MY | |Malay |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|nb_NO |Norsk (bokmaal) |Norwegian Bokmaal |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|nn_NO |Norsk (nynorsk) |Norwegian Nynorsk |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|nl_NL@euro | |Dutch |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|pl_PL |Polski |Polish |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|pt_BR |Portuges Brazileiro|Brazilian Portuguese|
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|pt_PT |Portuges |Portuguese |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|ro_RO | |Romanian |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|ru_RU | |Russian |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|sk_SK |Slovak | |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|sv_SE@euro |Svenska |Swedish |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|ta_IN (*) | |Tamil |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|tr_TR@euro | |Turkish |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|wa_BE@euro | |Walloon |
|---------------+-------------------+--------------------|
|zh_CN (*) | |Chinese (Simplified)|
+--------------------------------------------------------+
(*) - These languages require their own fonts, since they are not
represented using a Latin character set, like the others. See
Special Fonts, below.
Setting Your Environment's Locale
Changing your locale will affect much of your environment.
As stated above, along with letting you choose the language at
runtime using command-line options ("--lang" and "--locale"),
Tux Paint honors the global locale setting in your environment.
If you haven't already set your environment's locale, the
following will briefly explain how:
Linux/Unix Users
First, be sure the locale you want to use is enabled by editing
the file "/etc/locale.gen" on your system and then running the
program "locale-gen" as root.
Note: Debian users may be able to simply run the command
"dpkg-reconfigure locales".
Then, before running Tux Paint, set your "$LANG" environment
variable to one of the locales listed above. (If you want all
programs that can be translated to be, you may wish to place the
following in your login script; e.g. ~/.profile, ~/.bashrc,
~/.cshrc, etc.)
For example, in a Bourne Shell (like BASH):
export LANG=es_ES@euro ; \
tuxpaint
And in a C Shell (like TCSH):
setenv LANG es_ES@euro ; \
tuxpaint
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Windows Users
Tux Paint will recognize the current locale and use the
appropriate files by default. So this section is only for people
trying different languages.
The simplest thing to do is to use the '--lang' switch in the
shortcut (see "INSTALL.txt"). However, by using an MSDOS Prompt
window, it is also possible to issue a command like this:
set LANG=es_ES@euro
...which will set the language for the lifetime of that DOS
window.
For something more permanent, try editing your computer's
'autoexec.bat' file using Windows' "sysedit" tool:
Windows 95/98
1. Click on the 'Start' button, and select 'Run...'.
2. Type "sysedit" into the 'Open:' box (with or without
quotes).
3. Click 'OK'.
4. Locate the AUTOEXEC.BAT window in the System Configuration
Editor.
5. Add the following at the bottom of the file:
set LANG=es_ES@euro
6. Close the System Configuration Editor, answering yes to save
the changes.
7. Restart your machine.
To affect the entire machine, and all applications, it is
possible to use the "Regional Settings" control panel:
1. Click on the 'Start' button, and select
'Settings | Control Panel'.
2. Double click on the "Regional Settings" globe.
3. Select a language/region from the drop down list.
4. Click 'OK'.
5. Restart your machine when prompted.
Special Fonts
Some languages require special fonts be installed. These font
files (which are in TrueType format (TTF)), are much too large to
include with the Tux Paint download, and are available separately.
(See the table above, under the "Choosing a Different Language"
section.)
When running Tux Paint in a language that requires its own font,
Tux Paint will try to load the font file from its system-wide
"fonts" directory (under a "locale" subdirectory). The name of the
file corresponds to the first two letters in the 'locale' code of
the language (e.g., "ko" for Korean, "ja" for Japanese, "zh" for
Chinese).
For example, under Linux or Unix, when Tux Paint is run in Korean
(e.g., with the option "--lang korean"), Tux Paint will attempt to
load the following font file:
/usr/share/tuxpaint/fonts/locale/ko.ttf
You can download fonts for supported languages from Tux Paint's
website, http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/tuxpaint/. (Look in the
'Fonts' section under 'Download.')
Under Unix and Linux, you can use the Makefile that comes with the
font to install the font in the appropriate location.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Title Screen
When Tux Paint first loads, a title/credits screen will appear.
[Title Screenshot]
Once loading is complete, press a key or click on the mouse to
continue. (Or, after about 30 seconds, the title screen will go away
automatically.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Main Screen
The main screen is divided into the following sections:
Left Side: Toolbar
The toolbar contains the drawing and editing controls.
[Tools: Paint, Stamp, Lines, Shapes, Text, Magic, Undo, Redo, Eraser, New,
Open, Save, Print, Quit]
Middle: Drawing Canvas
The largest part of the screen, in the center, is the drawing
canvas. This is, obviously, where you draw!
[(Canvas)]
Right Side: Selector
Depending on the current tool, the selector shows different
things. e.g., when the Paint Brush tool is selected, it shows
the various brushes available. When the Rubber Stamp tool is
selected, it shows the different shapes you can use.
[Selectors - Brushes, Letters, Shapes, Stamps]
Lower: Colors
A palette of available colors are shown near the bottom of the
screen.
[Colors - Black, White, Red, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue,
Purple, Brown, Grey]
Bottom: Help Area
At the very bottom of the screen, Tux, the Linux Penguin,
provides tips and other information while you draw.
(For example: 'Pick a shape. Click to pick the center, drag, then let go
when it is the size you want. Move around to rotate it, and click to draw
it.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Available Tools
Drawing Tools
Paint (Brush)
The Paint Brush tool lets you draw freehand, using various
brushes (chosen in the Selector on the right) and colors
(chosen in the Color palette towards the bottom).
If you hold the mouse button down, and move the mouse, it
will draw as you move.
As you draw, a sound is played. The bigger the brush, the
lower the pitch.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Stamp (Rubber Stamp)
The Stamp tool is like a rubber stamp, or stickers. It lets
you paste pre-drawn or photographic images (like a picture
of a horse, or a tree, or the moon) in your picture.
As you move the mouse around, an outline follows the mouse,
showing where the stamp will be placed.
Different stamps can have different sound effects. Some
stamps can be colored or tinted.
Stamps and be shrunk and expanded, and many stamps can be
flipped vertically, or displayed as a mirror-image, using
controls at the bottom right of the screen.
(NOTE: If the "nostampcontrols" option is set, Tux Paint
won't display the Mirror, Flip, Shrink and Grow controls for
stamps. See the "Options" section of this document, above.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lines
This tool lets you draw straight lines using the various
brushes and colors you normally use with the Paint Brush.
Click the mouse and hold it to choose the starting point of
the line. As you move the mouse around, a thin 'rubber-band'
line will show where the line will be drawn.
Let go of the mouse to complete the line. A "sproing!" sound
will play.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Shapes
This tool lets you draw some simple filled, and un-filled
shapes.
Select a shape from the selector on the right (circle,
square, oval, etc.).
In the canvas, click the mouse and hold it to stretch the
shape out from where you clicked. Some shapes can change
proportion (e.g., rectangle and oval), others cannot (e.g.,
square and circle).
Let go of the mouse when you're done stretching.
Normal Mode
Now you can move the mouse around the canvas to
rotate the shape.
Click the mouse button again and the shape will
be drawn in the current color.
Simple Shapes Mode
If simple shapes are enabled (e.g., with the
"--simpleshapes" option), the shape will be
drawn on the canvas when you let go of the
mouse button. (There's no rotation step.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Text
Choose a font (from the 'Letters' available on the right)
and a color (from the color palette near the bottom). Click
on the screen and a cursor will appear. Type text and it
will show up on the screen.
Press [Enter] or [Return] and the text will be drawn onto
the picture and the cursor will move down one line.
Click elsewhere in the picture and the current line of text
will move there, where you can continue editing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Magic (Special Effects)
The 'Magic' tool is actually a set of special tools. Select
one of the "magic" effects from the selector on the right,
and then click and drag around the picture to apply the
effect.
Rainbow
This is similar to the paint brush, but as you
move the mouse around, it goes through all of
the colors in the rainbow.
Sparkles
This draws glowing yellow sparkles on the
picture.
Mirror
When you click the mouse in your picture with
the "Mirror" magic effect selected, the entire
image will be reversed, turning it into a
mirror image.
Flip
Similar to "Mirror." Click and the entire image
will be turned upside-down.
Blur
This makes the picture fuzzy wherever you drag
the mouse.
Blocks
This makes the picture blocky looking
("pixelated") wherever you drag the mouse.
Negative
This inverts the colors wherever you drag the
mouse. (e.g., white becomes black, and vice
versa.)
Fade
This fades the colors wherever you drag the
mouse. (Do it to the same spot many times, and
it will eventually become white.)
Chalk
This makes parts of the picture (where you move
the mouse) look like a chalk drawing.
Drip
This makes the paint "drip" wherever you move
the mouse.
Thick
This makes the darker colors in the picture
become thicker wherever you drag the mouse.
Thin
Similar to "Thick," except dark colors become
thinner (light colors become thicker).
Fill
This floods the picture with a color. It lets
you quickly fill parts of the picture, as if it
were a coloring book.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Eraser
This tool is similar to the Paint Brush. Wherever you click
(or click and drag), the picture will be erased to white.
As you move the mouse around, a very large square outline
follows the pointer, showing what part of the picture will
be erased to white.
As you erase, a "squeaky clean" eraser/wiping sound is
played.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Controls
Undo
Clicking this tool will undo the last drawing action. You
can even undo more than once!
Note: You can also press [Control]-[Z] on the keyboard to
undo.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Redo
Clicking this tool will redo the drawing action you just
"undid" with the 'Undo' button.
As long as you don't draw again, you can redo as many times
as you had "undone!"
Note: You can also press [Control]-[R] on the keyboard to
redo.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
New
Clicking the "New" button will start a new drawing. You will
first be asked whether you really want to do this.
Note: You can also press [Control]-[N] on the keyboard to
start a new drawing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Open
This shows you a list of all of the pictures you've saved.
If there are more than can fit on the screen, use the "Up"
and "Down" arrows at the top and bottom of the list to
scroll through the list of pictures.
Click a picture to select it, then...
* Click the green "Open" button at the lower left of
the list to load the selected picture.
(Alternatively, you can double-click a picture's icon
to load it.)
* Click the brown "Erase" (trash can) button at the
lower right of the list to erase the selected
picture. (You will be asked to confirm.)
* Or click the red "Back" arrow button at the lower
right of the list to cancel and return to the picture
you were drawing.
If choose to open a picture, and your current drawing hasn't
been saved, you will be prompted as to whether you want to
save it or not. (See "Save," below.)
Note: You can also press [Control]-[O] on the keyboard to
get the 'Open' dialog.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Save
This saves your current picture.
If you haven't saved it before, it will create a new entry
in the list of saved images. (i.e., it will create a new
file)
Note: It won't ask you anything (e.g., for a filename). It
will simply save the picture, and play a "camera shutter"
sound effect.
If you HAVE saved the picture before, or this is a picture
you just loaded using the "Open" command, you will first be
asked whether you want to save over the old version, or
create a new entry (a new file).
(NOTE: If either the "saveover" or "saveovernew" options are
set, it won't ask before saving over. See the "Options"
section of this document, above.)
Note: You can also press [Control]-[S] on the keyboard to
save.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Print
Click this button and your picture will be printed!
Disabling Printing
If the "noprint" option was set (either with
"noprint=yes" in Tux Paint's configuration
file, or using "--noprint" on the
command-line), the "Print" button will be
disabled.
See the "Options" section of this document,
above.
Restricting Printing
If the "printdelay" option was used (either
with "printdelay=SECONDS" in the configuration
file, or using "--printdelay=SECONDS" on the
command-line), you can only print once every
SECONDS seconds.
For example, with "printdelay=60", you can
print only once a minute.
See the "Options" section of this document,
above.
Printing Command
(Linux and Unix only)
The command used to print is actually a set of
commands that convert a PNG to a PostScript and
send it to the printer:
pngtopnm | pnmtops | lpr
This command can be changed by setting the
"printcommand" value in Tux Paint's
configuration file.
See the "Options" section of this document,
above.
Printer Settings
(Windows only)
By default, Tux Paint simply prints to the
default printer with default settings when the
'Print' button is pushed.
However, if you hold the [ALT] key on the
keyboard while pushing the button, as long as
you're not in fullscreen mode, a Windows print
dialog will appear, where you can change the
settings.
You can have the printer configuration changes
stored by using the "printcfg" option, either
by using "--printcfg" on the command-line, or
"printcfg=yes" in Tux Paint's own configuration
file ("tuxpaint.cfg").
If the "printcfg" option is used, printer
settings will be loaded from the file
"userdata/print.cfg". Any changes will be saved
there as well.
See the "Options" section of this document,
above.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Quit
Clicking the "Quit" button, closing the Tux Paint window, or
pushing the "Escape" key will quit Tux Paint.
(NOTE: The "Quit" button can be disabled (e.g., with the
"--noquit" command-line option), but the [Escape] key will
still work. See the "Options" section of this document,
above.)
You will first be prompted as to whether you really want to
quit.
If you choose to quit, and you haven't saved the current
picture, you will first be asked if wish to save it. If it's
not a new image, you will then be asked if you want to save
over the old version, or create a new entry. (See "Save"
above.)
NOTE: If the image is saved, it will be reloaded
automatically the next time you run Tux Paint!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Loading Other Pictures into Tux Paint
Since Tux Paint's 'Open' dialog only displays pictures you created with
Tux Paint, what if you want to load some other picture or photograph
into Tux Paint to edit?
To do so, you simply need to convert the picture into a PNG (Portable
Network Graphic) image file, and place it in Tux Paint's "saved"
directory. ("~/.tuxpaint/saved/" under Linux and Unix, "userdata\saved\"
under Windows.)
Using 'tuxpaint-import'
Linux and Unix users can use the "tuxpaint-import" shell script which
gets installed when you install Tux Paint. It uses some NetPBM tools
to convert the image ("anytopnm"), resize it so that it will fit in
Tux Paint's canvas ("pnmscale"), and convert it to a PNG ("pnmtopng").
It also uses the "date" command to get the current time and date,
which is the file-naming convention Tux Paint uses for saved files.
(Remember, you are never asked for a 'filename' when you go to Save or
Open pictures!)
To use 'tuxpaint-import', simply run the command from a command-line
prompt and provide it the name(s) of the file(s) you wish to convert.
They will be converted and placed in your Tux Paint 'saved' directory.
(Note: If you're doing this for a different user - e.g., your child,
you'll need to make sure to run the command under their account.)
Example:
$ tuxpaint-import grandma.jpg
grandma.jpg -> /home/username/.tuxpaint/saved/20020921123456.png
jpegtopnm: WRITING A PPM FILE
The first line ("tuxpaint-import grandma.jpg") is the command to run.
The following two lines are output from the program while it's
working.
Now you can load Tux Paint, and a version of that original picture
will be available under the 'Open' dialog. Just double-click its icon!
Doing it Manually
Windows users must currently do the conversion manually.
Load a graphics program that is capable of both loading your picture
and saving a PNG format file. (See the documentation file "PNG.txt"
for a list of suggested software, and other references.)
Reduce the size of the image to no wider than 448 pixels across and no
taller than 376 pixels tall. (i.e., the maximum size is 448 x 376
pixels)
Save the picture in PNG format. It is highly recommended that you name
the filename using the current date and time, since that's the
convention Tux Paint uses:
YYYYMMDDhhmmss.png
* YYYY = Year
* MM = Month (01-12)
* DD = Day (01-31)
* HH = Hour, in 24-hour format (00-23)
* mm = Minute (00-59)
* ss = Second (00-59)
e.g.:
20020921130500 - for September 21, 2002, 1:05:00pm
Place this PNG file in your Tux Paint 'saved' directory. (See above.)
Under Windows, this is in the "userdata" folder.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Extending Tux Paint
If you wish to add or change things like Brushes and Rubber Stamps used
by Tux Paint, you can do it fairly easily by simply putting or removing
files on your hard disk.
Note: You'll need to restart Tux Paint for the changes to take effect.
Where Files Go
Standard Files
Tux Paint looks for its various data files in its 'data' directory.
Linux and Unix
Where this directory goes depends on what value was set for
"DATA_PREFIX" when Tux Paint was built. See INSTALL.txt for
details.
By default, though, the directory is:
/usr/local/share/tuxpaint/
If you installed from a package, it is more likely to be:
/usr/share/tuxpaint/
Windows
Tux Paint looks for a directory called 'data' in the same
directory as the executable. This is the directory that the
installer used when installing Tux Paint e.g.:
C:\Program Files\TuxPaint\data
Mac OS X
Tux Paint stores files in your account's "Libraries" folder, under
"Preferences", e.g.:
/Users/Joe/Library/Preferences/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Personal Files
You can also create brushes, stamps and fonts in your own directory
for Tux Paint to find.
Linux and Unix
Your personal Tux Paint directory is "~/.tuxpaint/".
That is, if your home directory is "/home/karl", then your
Tux Paint directory is "/home/karl/.tuxpaint/".
Don't forget the period (".") before the 'tuxpaint'!
Windows
Your personal Tux Paint directory is named "userdata" and is in
the same directory as the executable e.g.:
C:\Program Files\TuxPaint\userdata
To add brushes, stamps and fonts, create subdirectories under your
personal Tux Paint directory named "brushes", "stamps" and "fonts",
respectively.
(For example, if you created a brush named "flower.png", you would
put it in "~/.tuxpaint/brushes/" under Linux or Unix.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Brushes
The brushes used for drawing with the 'Brush' and 'Lines' tools in
Tux Paint are simply greyscale PNG images.
The alpha (transparency) of the PNG image is used to determine the
shape of the brush, which means that the shape can be 'anti-aliased'
and even partially-transparent!
Brush images should be no wider than 40 pixels across and no taller
than 40 pixels high. (i.e., the maximum size can be 40 x 40.)
Just place them in the "brushes" directory.
Note: If your new brushes all come out as solid squares or rectangles,
it's because you forgot to use alpha transparency! See the
documentation file "PNG.txt" for more information and tips.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Stamps
All stamp-related files go in the "stamps" directory. It's useful to
create subdirectories and sub-subdirectories there to organize the
stamps. (For example, you can have a "holidays" folder with
"halloween" and "christmas" sub-folders.)
Images
Rubber Stamps in Tux Paint can be made up of a number of separate
files. The one file that is required is, of course, the picture
itself.
The Stamps used by Tux Paint are PNG pictures. They can be
full-color or greyscale. The alpha (transparency) of the PNG is used
to determine the actual shape of the picture (otherwise you'll stamp
a large rectangle on your drawings).
The PNGs can be any size, but in practice, a 100 pixels wide by
100 pixels tall (100 x 100) is quite large for Tux Paint.
Note: If your new stamps all have solid rectangular-shaped outlines
of a solid color (e.g., white or black), it's because you forgot to
use alpha transparency! See the documentation file "PNG.txt" for
more information and tips.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Description Text
Text (".TXT") files with the same name as the PNG. (e.g.,
"picture.png"'s description is stored in "picture.txt" in the same
directory.)
The first line of the text file will be used as the default
description of the stamp's image.
Language Support
Additional lines can be added to the text file to provide
translations of the description, to be displayed when Tux Paint is
running in a different locale (like French or Spanish).
There are three ways of placing translated descriptions in a
stamp's ".txt" file. In each case, the beginning of the line
should correspond to the locale code of the language in question
(e.g., "de" for German, "fr" for French, etc.).
* Lines beginning with "xx=" (where "xx" is the locale code)
will be considered plain ASCII. That is, any special
characters on the line will be interpreted literally.
For example, "es=!Ninos!", will come out literally as
"!Ninos!"
* Lines beginning with "xx.esc=" can contain special
'escape sequences' which allow you to create a description
using special ASCII characters (like "a" and "th") without the
need to figure out how to get those characters in the file
with whatever editor you chose to use.
The escape sequences are identical to those used in HTML to
display ASCII characters 161 through 255. The sequence begins
with a "&" (ampersand), and ends with a ";" (semicolon). See
the documentation file "ESCAPES.txt" for a list of escapable
characters.
For example, "es.esc=¡Niños!", will come out as
"!Ninos!"
Note: As in HTML, if you want an actual ampersand ("&") in
your description when using the "xx.esc" method ,you'll need
to escape it: "&".
* Lines beginning with "xx.utf8=" can be used to use UTF-8
encoded text for the description's translation. You'll need an
editor capable of saving UTF-8 encoded files.
If no translation is available for the language Tux Paint is
currently running in, the default string (the first line, which is
typically in English) is used.
Windows Users
Use NotePad or WordPad to edit/create these files. Be sure to save
them as Plain Text, and make sure they have ".txt" at the end of
the filename...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sound Effects
WAVE (".WAV") files with the same name as the PNG. (e.g.,
"picture.png"'s sound effect is the sound "picture.wav" in the same
directory.)
Language Support
For sounds for different locales (e.g., if the sound is someone
saying a word, and you want translated versions of the word said),
also create WAV files with the locale's label in the filename, in
the form: "STAMP_LOCALE.wav"
"picture.png"'s sound effect, when Tux Paint is run in Spanish
mode, would be "picture_es.wav". In French mode, "picture_fr.wav".
And so on...
If no localized sound effect can be loaded, Tux Paint will attempt
to load the 'default' sound file. (e.g., "picture.wav")
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Stamp Options
Aside from a graphical shape, a textual description, and a sound
effect, stamps can also be given other attributes. To do this, you
need to create a 'data file' for the stamp.
A stamp data file is simply a text file containing the options.
The file has the same name as the PNG image, but a ".dat" extension.
(e.g., "picture.png"'s data file is the text file "picture.dat" in
the same directory.)
Colored Stamps
Stamps can be made to be either "colorable" or "tintable."
Colorable
"Colorable" stamps they work much like brushes - you pick the
stamp to get the shape, and then pick the color you want it to
be. (Symbol stamps, like the mathematical and musical ones, are
an example.)
Nothing about the original image is used except the transparency
("alpha" channel). The color of the stamp comes out solid.
Add the word "colorable" to the stamp's data file.
Tinted
"Tinted" stamps are similar to "colorable" ones, except the
details of the original image are kept. (To put it technically,
the original image is used, but its hue is changed, based on the
currently-selected color.)
Add the word "tintable" to the stamp's data file.
Unalterable Stamps
By default, a stamp can be flipped upside down, shown as a mirror
image, or both. This is done using the control buttons below the
stamp selector, at the lower right side of the screen in
Tux Paint.
Sometimes, it doesn't make sense for a stamp to be flippable or
mirrored; for example, stamps of letters or numbers. Sometimes
stamps are symettrical, so letting the user flip or mirror them
isn't useful.
To make a stamp un-flippable, add the option "noflip" to the
stamp's data file.
To keep a stamp from being mirrored, add the option "nomirror" to
the stamp's data file.
Windows Users
You can use NotePad or WordPad to create these file. Be sure to
save it as Plain Text, and make sure the filename has ".dat" at
the end, and not ".txt"...
Pre-Mirrored Images
In some cases, you may wish to provide a pre-drawn version of a
stamp's mirror-image. For example, imagine a picture of a fire truck
with the words "Fire Department" written across the side. You
probably do not want that text to appear backwards when the image is
flipped!
To create a mirrored version of a stamp that you want Tux Paint to
use, rather than mirroring one on its own, simply create a second
".png" graphics file with the same name, except with the string
"_mirror" before the filename extension.
For example, for the stamp "truck.png" you would create another file
named "truck_mirror.png", which will be used when the stamp is
mirrored (rather than using a backwards version of 'truck.png').
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fonts
The fonts used by Tux Paint are TrueType Fonts (TTF).
Simply place them in the "fonts" directory. Tux Paint will load the
font and provide four different sizes in the 'Letters' selector when
using the 'Text' tool.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
More Information
For more information, see the other documentation files that come with
Tux Paint.
If you need help, feel free to contact New Breed Software:
http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/
You may also wish to participate in the numerous Tux Paint mailing
lists:
http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/tuxpaint/lists/