Marq's PETSCII editor
| Marq's PETSCII editor | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Developer | Markku Reunanen aka Marq | |
| Company | ||
| Publisher | ||
| Release | 2013 | |
| Licence | Freeware | |
| Platform | PC (Windows, Linux), Mac | |
| Genre | PETSCII Screen Editor, Cross-Development | |
| Operation |  , 
| |
| Media | - | |
| Language(s) | 
| |
| Information | Last version: 06.12.2020 | |
Marq's PETSCII editor is a C64 tool for Linux, Windows and Mac for easily editing and paintint PETSCII text screens for the Commodore home computer systems like C64, PET, VIC-20 and Plus/4, also "C64 flicker" and "dir art" (directory manipulation with own text art). Some interesting menu options are only available by some keys or key combinations.
Description[edit | edit source]
At the start of the Marq's PETSCII editor you must choose by the following text screens:
- C64 (40*25, 16 colors)
- C64 flicker (40*25, 45 colors)
- Dir Art (16*25, nearly no color)
- PET 40*25 (green color, 1 charset)
- PET 80*25 (green color, 1 charset)
- Plus/4 (40*25; 127 colors)
- VIC-20 (22*23; 8 and 16 colors)
Now the editor starts with the right size, colours and character set for this screen type in the painting mode.
Other Editor Modes[edit | edit source]
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Main Objects of this PETSCII Editor[edit | edit source]
- On the upper side over the screen editor you see the clipboard (icons) and the clipboard menu with 5 menu options.
- You can also select the clipboard icons or scrolling by using the cursor keys or the keys 1 until 0 for the first 10 clipboard icons. Also you can use the clipboard menu options on a select clipboard icon.
- In the big PETSCII screen editor optional with a grid, you can paint and edit the text screen by mouse and keyboard.
- At the right side you see the main menu of the PETSCII screen editor with 14 menu options, also with load and save options. More menu options are only available through keys!
- Directly under the menu is the color board. You can select the color of
- pen with a click on the left mouse button. The selected pen color is red framed in the color board.
- background with a click on the right mouse button or with the key , . The selected border color is marked with a red pennant at the top left in the color board.
- border with the key . . The selected border color is marked with a red pennant at the bottom right in the color board.
- Under the color board is show you the actually choosen colors of text (pen), background (bg) and border with the offical color number (e.g. C64: 0-15).
- At last at the right side, appears the actually charset in a useful arrangement with all 256 chars in normal and reverse in a grid of 16*16 chars.
- You can select a char (red framed) and put it with a mouse click in the screen editor or use the mouse as painter with the selected char.
Clipboard[edit | edit source]
Every Clipboard Icon is a own PETSCII screen, which can be selected for editing.
The clipboard has the following menu options:
- < Dup | > : Duplicate the actually screen to the left or right side of the clipboard menu.
- Cut : Cut a actually selected clipboard icon from the clipboard menu. If you don't paste in, it is also a delete function.
- < Paste | > : Paste the cut screen from the clipboard to the left or right side of the clipboard menu.
Some clipboard menu options are only available by the keys:
- Also the first 10 clipboard icons can be selected by the keys 1 until 0 (0-10).
- The key D duplicate the actually screen to the right side of the clipboard menu.
Main Menu[edit | edit source]
This following menu options can used with a mouse:
Load[edit | edit source]
Load a Marq's PETSCII file (imagename.c) into the editor over a loading window.
Merge[edit | edit source]
Load another Marq's PETSCII file (imagename.c) into the editor over a loading window. Now the clipboard menu shows you 2 icons of both PETSCII screens.
Save[edit | edit source]
Save this actually and modify datas (screen and clipboard) on the same file name (imagename.c; Marq's PETSCII file), also with the key S . More save options are vailable by some key combinations (see Save Options) with the same file name!
Save as[edit | edit source]
By using Save as you can save the actually and modify datas (screen and clipboard) into a own new file name (imagename.c; Marq's PETSCII file) with a saving window. This means you saved a copy.
Ref[edit | edit source]
If you use Ref (reference), you can load a picture in the format .PNG, .GIF or .JPG in the screen editor and this image is displayed with a lower brightness in the background, so that it can be coloured in or paint out (watermark function).
Load.prg[edit | edit source]
You can load a BASIC File (PRG) into the screen editor with a loading window. Not available in C64 Flicker, Dir Art, PET and VIC-20 mode.
Save.prg[edit | edit source]
You can save the screen to a BASIC File (PRG) under the same file name, also with the key E . Not available in Dir Art and PET mode.
This PETSCII image file can be load absoulte on the right Commodore computer system with LOAD"*",8,1, because it's a packed program, that is started with a SYS-command (C64: SYS2061).
.png[edit | edit source]
.PNG save the actually picture in the .PNG format under the same file name, also with the key P .
Preview[edit | edit source]
The Preview option shows the text screen on a normal size like on the real computer system.
Undo[edit | edit source]
The last actions in the screen editor is undo, also with the key U .
Redo[edit | edit source]
The last actions in the screen editor is redo (cancels undo's), also with the key combination SHIFT + U .
Clear[edit | edit source]
Clear the actually screen in the PETSCII editor.
Grid[edit | edit source]
Fades in or out a Grid for helping by painting and editing in the PETSCII editor, also the key G .
Case[edit | edit source]
The Case function switches between the two character sets:
- Standard character set 1: Big and graphics letters.
- Character set 2: Big and small letters.
Not available in PET mode.
Extra Options through Keys[edit | edit source]
Some menu options are only available by some keys or key combinations:
Text Mode[edit | edit source]
- RETURN : Activate the text mode for writting text or chars with the keyboard.
- SHIFT + RETURN : Activate the text mode in reverse for writting text or chars with the keyboard.
- STRG + J : Activate the text mode for writting text or chars with the keyboard.
- STRG + J : In the text mode jump to the next row.
- STRG + H : One char back by deleting.
- TAB or SHIFT + I : Jump 5 chars forward (tabulator function).
- ESC : Leave the text mode back to the paint mode.
Editor Functions[edit | edit source]
- U : Undo
- SHIFT + U : Redo
- T : Change brightness (off; 1-3) of the water mark picture
- SHIFT + T : The references image (water mark) will be soften and copy in the PETSCII screen editor.
- L : Frame lock or unlocked, that means the screen can't edit!
- X : Change char in charset grid into reserve or normal.
- SHIFT + X : Reverse mode on/off in PETSCII screen editor
- , : Change background color one color forward.
- . : Change border color one color forward.
- STRG + A : Moved the screen by the mouse. The key ESC finished this option.
Save Options[edit | edit source]
- Q : Save as SEQ file
- W : Save as ...delta.s file
- E : Save as PRG file (packed autostart file!)
- SHIFT + E : Save as PET file
- P : Save as PNG file
- A : Save as ... .s file
- S : Save as Marq's PETSCII file (standard)
- SHIFT + S : Save as ...export.c file
- B : Save as BAS
- SHIFT + B : Save as delta.bas file
User Design of the PETSCII Editor[edit | edit source]
- i : Fad out or in optional text infos in the menus (standard: on)
- c : Crosshair on the mouse cursor on/off (standard: off)
- g : Grid on/off (standard: on)
Examples[edit | edit source]
The "Examples" folder contains 8 sample text images (PETSCII pictures) for the supported computer systems with the following file names:
- c64-petscii_green.c
- c64-ukkelit_vuorella.c
- c64-uncle_nash.c
- pet-ribbonman.c
- pet-ukkeli.c
- plus4-stripes.c
- vic20-flight.c
- vic20-iso.c
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Demo picture C64-PETSCII Green -
Demo picture C64-Ukkelit Vuorella -
Demo picture C64-Uncle Nash -
Demo picture PET-Ribbonman -
Demo picture PET-Ukkeli -
Demo picture PLUS4-Stripes -
Demo picture VIC20-Flight -
Demo picture VIC20-ISO
Another nice PETSCII images will you find on the official website.
