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? Information on different picture viewing programs - Updated 5th Oct 1991 ?
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The following notes provide a guide to help people
choose which picture viewing program to use.
All the programs listed below are available for download
from the State Of Chaos BBS, Ph (09) 410-3815.
CSHOW833.ZIP - Cshow v8.33a - Latest version at 19-6-91
This is one of the best known viewing programs.
It allows viewing of the following picture types :
CompuServe GIF Rix
CompuServe RLE Targa
MacPaint Deluxe Paint LBM, BBM
PC Paintbrush PCX Windows BitMaP
PC Paint PIC TIFF
Dr. Halo
Main Features :
Supports EMS memory for panning of 1280x1024x256 pictures
Microsoft mouse compatibility
Tag groups of files for viewing and slideshows
Supports most SVGA cards and video modes
Scripts for controlling slideshows
Images can be scaled to screen size
Print pictures on a variety of printers
*NOTE : I have seen several other copies of Cshow (up to
version 8.51) claiming to be the latest. All of these
have actually turned out to be quite old versions in spite
of the version number. Version 8.33 is the latest as of
June 91 and was received direct from the programs authors.
GDS109.ZIP - Graphics Display System v1.09
This program is quite new, the 1st release was Feb 91
It allows viewing of the following picture types :
CompuServe GIF Rix
MacPaint Deluxe Paint LBM, BBM
PC Paintbrush PCX
Gds can alter brightness, contrast, colour, etc and
write the changed picture back to disk.
One especially good feature of Gds is its ability to
create visual catalogs by grouping reduced pictures
together to create a single picture file.
Hundreds of individual pictures can be combined within
a single picture.
Main features :
Supports EMS memory
Uses mouse or keyboard
Supports up to 60 rows by 132 columns
Tag groups of files for processing
Supports most SVGA cards and video modes
Slideshows
Alter colours, size, shape
Zoom and clip sections of pictures
Catalog multiple pictures into a single display file
High quality image reduction
Convert between different picture formats
Most options user configurable
GRAFWK60.ZIP - Graphic Workshop v6.0
This version is a complete rewrite and represents a great
improvement over previous versions I have used.
It allows viewing of individual images but is really
intended for conversion and manipulation of pictures
rather than use as a straight picture viewer.
It handles many different formats and is able to
convert images between any of them.
It can also produce self displaying *.EXE files for
splash screens etc in a similar manner to GIFEXE.
It allows viewing of the following picture types :
CompuServe GIF Ventura GEM/IMG
MacPaint TIFF
PC Paintbrush PCX Deluxe Paint/Amiga IFF/LBM
PC Paint Pictor PIC WordPerfect Graphics WPG
Windows 3 BMP Encapsulated PostScript EPS
Microsoft Paint MSP Text files
Truevision Targa 24-bit files
Main features :
Supports Expanded/Extended/Virtual memory
Print images on LaserJet, PostScript and other printers
Self displaying pictures (doesn't support SVGA)
Rotate, Flip and Scale images
Produce clip art from colour images
Special effects :
Colour reduction, Grey scale, Sharpen
Soften, Smudge, Posterization
Script language
Supports many SVGA cards
Many options user configurable
GIFDES40.ZIP - Gif Desk v4.0
This program allows viewing of individual pictures or
alternatively up to 80 Gifs on screen at one time.
The multiple Gif mode can be used to create visual catalogs
in a similar way to GDS109, however the quality of its
image reduction is not as high and it cannot display as
many images at once as GDS109.
Main features :
Supports most SVGA cards
Catalog multiple pictures into a single display file
Print pictures on Laserjet compatible printers
Allows command files for automated usage.
GIFEXE.ZIP - Gifexe v1.0
This program is not a normal picture viewer.
It is used to convert any Gif image into a self displaying
*.EXE file that can be run from the Dos prompt.
This is useful for displaying fancy splash screens before
starting up an application program etc.
Unfortunately the self displaying image is rather slow.
The registered version supports SVGA modes.
GIFFIE12.ZIP - Giffie v1.2
This program is fairly ordinary but does have a couple of
features the others don't - special effects & descriptions.
Giffie allows you to choose whether the pictures 'fade in',
'zip up/down' or simply replace - only works for 320x200.
It can also attach a description to each Gif file to help
you keep track of what each picture is.
Supports mouse and slideshows
Print pictures on HP Paintjet or Plotter
Supports standard Vga but SVGA support is very limited
GIFWARP1.ZIP - Gif Warp v1.0
This program is not actually intended as a viewer.
It allows you to display a GIF file and then stretch
parts of it to create weird effects.
If you feel like putting long noses and big ears on
people then this is the program to do it.
Works with pictures up to 256 colours.
Shareware version only works in 320x200 resolution.
Registered version supports SVGA.
Uses microsoft compatible mouse.
Save warped Gifs to disk.
PICEM21.ZIP - Picem v2.1
This program is different to the others mentioned here
in that it does not draw the pictures line by line but
rather displays the completed image all at once.
It allows viewing of the following picture types :
CompuServe GIF PC Paintbrush PCX
PC Paint PIC
Main features :
Tag groups of files for slideshows
Alter brightness & contrast
Write changed pictures back to disk
Scale images to screen size
Supports most SVGA modes
Can utilize Bios modes specific to your video card
Convert between different picture formats
VUIMG.ZIP - VuImage v2.92
This program displays both Gif and Tiff files.
It can also print both picture types.
Main features :
Supports various SVGA cards (external drivers needed)
Images can be scaled & zoomed
Alter brightness and contrast
Tag groups of files for slideshows
Many options can be configured via command line switches
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? So which viewer is best? ?
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The viewer you choose will depend on what hardware you have
and what features you require. The following is therefore
my opinion on what I have found suits my requirements best.
Firstly a quick list of a few areas in which some of the
above viewers are lacking or have problems.
PICEM can't handle very large pictures due to memory constraints
CSHOW can't save a changed picture although it can save settings
in a separate file that it uses when redisplaying a picture
GIFDESK quality of image reductions is fairly poor, and it
can't alter contrast or brightness
GIFFIE doesn't support very many video cards or SVGA modes
I use 3 of the above programs regularly - CSHOW, GDS & PICEM
- Cshow is good if you want a general purpose picture viewer
that supports more than just the Gif format.
It has a convenient mouse & keyboard interface that is easy
to use. It handles the largest pictures and all video modes.
- Picem is the viewer I use most. I find it convenient for
quick command line viewing of single images. I also prefer
its method of displaying the completed image rather than the
line at a time method; this makes it good for slide shows.
It also displays images automatically centred on screen.
- Gds is the program to use if you are into 'patching' Gifs.
It has an excellent mouse & keyboard interface. It supports
several picture types, both viewing and writing them.
Its editing features allow rotating & flipping images. It
can alter aspect ratios, clip sections, zoom (magnify),
change brightness, contrast, colour saturation etc.
The quality of its image reductions is excellent and the
cataloging feature is very versatile.
I should point out however that some of its features are
only available in the registered version.
I believe that the 3 programs above should cover most users
requirements. The other viewing programs, and others I have
used but not mentioned here, do not in my opinion possess any
worthwhile features not already covered by Cshow, Gds & Picem.
However I should also make special mention of Graphic Workshop.
Although I don't make much use of it myself, it is definitely
a quality program. Its image conversion facilities are very
good. The self displaying *.EXE files appear much faster than
those produced by GIFEXE.
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Written, and hopefully updated occasionally,
by Geraint Bycroft (Sysop - State Of Chaos)