Software Instruction Manual

IQ–MSD Turbo 1.4 Advanced IQ System Software
Page 65
Fig. 3.24 GDM Container Attributes Window
PCX File name: Sets the file name of an image that will be displayed in the background of the GDM
Container. The ability to display an image in the background of the GDM Container is a very useful feature. It can
display your company logo. It can have a picture of a control panel that you complete by adding control objects
as described in Section 3.9.4.
Only PCX bitmap files are supported and you will have to use a third-party paint or graphics program to create
the PCX file. If you use this feature, we recommend that the image have a color depth no higher than the one you
are using for the graphics plate (see also Section 3.2). For example, if your graphics plate is set to use 256 colors,
we recommend that the internal palette of the PCX image also have no more than 256 colors. It sometimes works
best if the image has an internal palette with
fewer colors. For example, use a 16-color PCX with a 256-color
graphics plate. This sometimes gives Turbo a better chance of matching the colors correctly in your image.
If you decide to use a PCX image,
you must keep a copy of the PCX file in the Turbo14 directory. The PCX file,
itself, is only linked to— not embedded into the container. Whenever the GDM Container is displayed, Turbo
searches for the PCX file so it can read it and display it in the container. If you ever decide to distribute copies of
your custom GDM to others, you will need to include copies of all PCX files that are used.
Border: Determines whether or not the border of the GDM Container will be visible when a PCX picture is
displayed in the container. This attribute does not affect the container when no PCX picture is used. Note: To use
the border, the Scale setting must also be turned on.
Scale: Determines whether or not a PCX image will be scaled to fit the size of the GDM Container.
Caution: If the Scale attribute is turned on and the aspect ratio (ratio of the width to height) of the container is
different from that of the PCX image, the image will be distorted to fit the container. If you want to make the container
size fit the size of the image, start with the container sized bigger than the image and the Scale attribute turned off.
Then link the image and after it is displayed, resize the container to fit the image while pressing
S. The S key
prevents the image size from changing while the container is resized.