The ImageBase by FourPix                                                                                               www.FourPix.com

Thank you for obtaining and evaluating The ImageBase program.  The fact that you are evaluating this 
program indicates that you have an interest in digital imaging, and are in search of tools dealing with digital 
imaging.  This program was designed to fill only one need in the digital image toolbox and not to be a do 
everything software package.  The task of enhancing, cropping, printing and touching up photographs is 
left to the many fine image editing software packages that are available.  The ImageBase deals primarily 
with the task of organizing and storing your digital images, and providing methods to search, locate and 
display images.  The features contained in The ImageBase are listed here.

* Build Image Bases on hard drives or writable CD drives.
* Give each image a name of up to 35 characters.
* Place each image in a category.
* Assign a sequence number to each image.  Used to control manual and automatic image display order.
* Attach a near unlimited amount of text to each image and display the text with the image.
* Create and attach audio to each image. 
* List and display images by category in sequential or alphabetical order by name.
* Search, list and display by means of a versatile name filter.
* Two sizes of viewing screens both with zoom in and zoom out control.

These features are included here, as they are the features that we found through experience make 
organizing digital images easy, fun and useful.  When we say useful, we are referring to the ability to attach 
lengthy text to an image.  There is nothing better than a picture to show how it is supposed to be and the 
text to explain it. Except maybe the ability to search and find that picture and its text when you need it. 
How about those old family photographs that you have been scanning into the computer?  That old picture 
of grandpa's favorite dog Anika just doesn't mean much to those who didn't know that dog.  But, with a line 
or two of text that speak of the fantastic tricks that dog could do, like sneezing on command, make the 
photo worth looking at.  And as for the fun, we think you will enjoy building your Image Bases and have 
many hours of fun viewing them and sharing them with friends.

The rest of this document is dedicated to how to use The ImageBase.  This is the how to do this and how to 
do that part.  Also, there are a few tips and tricks that we found helpful ourselves.   After you use The 
ImageBase for awhile you may come up with new tips and tricks and new ideas on uses for the program.  If 
you come up with new tips, tricks, ideas for use, or ideas that you would like to see implemented in new 
versions please send them to imagebase@fourpix.com. 

Here is the part that will puzzle you, it does me anyway.  This is the how to install The ImageBase program 
part.  But, if you are reading this you have already installed it as this file is packed in with the installation 
package. Puzzled? Me too, but I will go over the installation just in case there was a miracle and this file 
appeared before you installed it.  If the ImageBase were already installed I would just skip on to the next 
section, The First Look.

Installation & required equipment:

The ImageBase program requires Window95 or Window98, a monitor capable of displaying 800 X 600 
resolution, a mouse or other pointing device and a hard drive.  A CD drive capable of writing to CD-R's or 
CD-RW is highly recommended for building Image Bases with large numbers of images. 

This program comes in two flavors, one on CD disk and the other in a self-extracting WINZIP file.  The 
only difference is that the CD version has a sample ImageBase on it with a few images to view.  To install 
the CD version place the CD in the CD drive.  Press the Windows Start button and type 
x:\SETUP\SETUP.EXE, but replace the little x with the drive letter of your CD drive.  The setup program 
will start and you just follow the onscreen instructions. Please accept all defaults.  To install the program 
from the WINZIP file PhotoBk.exe just double click on the file and follow the on screen instructions.  Note 
that the PhotoBk.exe file is generally obtained by downloading from the Internet.  

First Look:

The first thing you see after starting The ImageBase is the main work screen with a select drive dialog box 
stuck in the middle of it.  Forget the box and take a look around the rest of the screen. It is pretty bare with 
the exception of a bunch of buttons.  We will talk about the buttons in a bit.  As bare as the screen looks, 
we had a hard time getting all the functionality in on the limited space without putting things in hidden 
popup menus.

Back to the select drive dialog box.  Besides the image on the box you see the message, "ImageBases were 
found on drives C," This could also be, "ImageBases were found on drives C,D,E,F,".  You also see,  
"Enter the drive you would like to use" and a field you may type in.  "C" appears in the window because 
the set up program built the default ImageBase on drive "C".  You are allowed one ImageBase per drive.  If 
you set up Image Bases on other drives and CDs they would appear in the drive list.  The default drive, "C" 
appears last in the list.  This dialog box allows you to choose the ImageBase you would like to work with. 
To choose, type the letter of the drive you want to work with.  TIP, if you would like to work with the drive 
displayed in the selection field, you can click the mouse anywhere in the gray area of the dialog box to 
select it.  Let's type the letter "C" and move on.

The Nasty Necessity: 

Here a dialog box appears with information about the program and copyright information.  If your sound is 
on and the volume up you hear a little bragging.  This dialog box is actually a waste of time unless you 
have evaluated the program and decided it is a useful tool you want.  In that case this is where you pat us 
on the back and reward us with a few dollars.  Otherwise, press the continue button. 

If you have obtained a registration number enter it here.  The continue button will change to register, press 
it when you are finished entering your registration number.  If the number is a valid number the program 
limitations will be removed and this dialog box will not appear anymore.  Not to mention how much we 
will appreciate your registration fee.

Main Screen:

There are actually two screens but the main screen is where the majority of your time will be spent.  The 
second screen is for viewing your images in a larger area and really needs little or no discussion.  The main 
screen however has a bit of functionality to it.  The first area we will talk about is the image area.  I am not 
even going to try and describe it or tell you where it is, I think the image area falls directly under self-
explanatory.  To make sure I am not assuming too much move your mouse pointer to the image in the 
image area and click the left mouse button.  Presto, you have changed screens and are looking at the second 
screen, the one that needs no discussion. That is except for maybe, to get back to the main screen you just 
click on the image again or click on that little button down in the lower right hand corner.  As for the other 
six little buttons on the full view screen, just click on them and see what they do.  The computer won't 
crash, nothing goes boom and you will learn their function without reading anything.  And the best part is I 
don't have to type so much.

Next, back on the main screen on the right hand side is the list area.  The list area displays information 
about the images that you have added to your ImageBase. The information is listed in columns and includes 
picture name, sequence number, category and image file name.  The left and right arrow buttons and the 
thumb tab at the bottom of the list area control which of the items is visible.  On the right side of the list 
area is a thumb tab, there's also an up arrow button at the top and a down arrow button at the bottom.  These 
control movement through your list of images.  Clicking the mouse on an image in the list will select that 
image to be displayed.  
 
Now let's take a look at the area right below the image area.  Notice the three labels, Picture Name, 
Sequence and Category just above the boxes that hold that information.  Also, notice that Picture Name and 
Sequence are red and blue.  Oh yes, you guessed it, these two are much more than mere labels.  They are in 
fact control switches, and labels.  If you move your mouse pointer over these labels it changes to a hand 
with a pointing finger.  Clicking the mouse on these labels changes the index of your ImageBase between 
alphabetical by name and sequential by sequence number.  It also changes the first column in the list from 
Picture Name to Sequence.  The list is always in the order of whichever label is red.  Clicking on the red 
label will change the first column in the list but leave the list in its present order.  Clicking on a blue label 
will change both the order and the first column.  Again, you are safe to click and see what happens.

On the right of the three labels and three field boxes you see two buttons.  One button has a magnifying 
glass with a plus sign in it and the other button a magnifying glass with a minus sign in it.  These are, as I 
am sure you know the zoom in and the zoom out buttons.  So..... let us go on.

Below, and the last area under the image is the text area.  This is where the text you add to an image is 
displayed, added and edited.  You must click the Edit button and be in edit mode before you can type text 
into this area.  On the right side of this text area are up and down arrows and a thumb tab that allow you to 
scroll through text.  If you are viewing images that contain more than three lines of text, click that button 
over on the right bottom of the screen that says Text.  It will double the text area to six lines of text.  Click 
the Text button again to return to the three line text area.  Remember that you may add a lot more than six 
lines of text but only six will be visible without scrolling.

Buttons:

What is that button for?  What does that button do?  Button button, who's got the button?  Point of interest, 
in case you are a bit younger than I am, before buttons we had to type commands at the command prompt 
to cause a change in program function.  Ok, I know, let's get going on these buttons.   First, I am going to 
say that some of these buttons fall under the self-explanatory clause and all I will say is, if it is not 
mentioned here then just push it and see what happens. 

Help Button:
 Let's start with that row of buttons just under the list area.   As you look at that row of buttons notice the 
one with the big red question mark.  That button is the most important button of all the buttons because it is 
the help me button.  So if you are staring at the screen and thinking, how do I do blah blah blah?  The 
answer is always press the button with the big red question mark on it. 

Open New Book Button:
That first button with the open book on it is used to change from one ImageBase to another.  If you have 
built several Image Bases on CDs and want to change CDs you exchange the CD in the drive and then 
press this button to log in the new CD ImageBase. This basically just closes the program and restarts it 
giving you the drive choices again.

True Size Button:
The True Size button is used to set the image size to its actual file size or stretched to best fit the image 
area.  This button has two frames on it with the letter T or S depending on which format is chosen.  This 
button is a toggle and just changes the format back and forth.  You will probably leave this in the stretched 
format most of the time.  Notice that when in the True size format the zoom buttons are not available. 

Printer Button:
What can I say?  Press the button with the picture of a printer on it to print a copy of the image.  This image 
will print on the top part of the page with the associated text under the image.  The image is stretched to fit 
with a one inch margin around the top and sides.  If you require more latitude in printing I suggest one of 
the many fine editing packages available.  

About Button:
The button on the far right with the little monitor on it is the About Button. When this button is pressed you 
get to see a little information about the program.  Not very exciting so we'll just leave it at that.



Edit Button:
Well, this looks like the last button, that is until you push it and the list area retreats and reveals even more 
buttons.  Wow, I pushed that Edit button and it disappeared along with some other stuff.  And then, oh no, 
more buttons.  And one of the new buttons is the Close Edit button, which will restore everything back to 
the way it was.  Besides showing more buttons the Edit button unlocks the data fields and allows you to 
type in the Picture Name, Sequence, Category and the Text fields. You can not edit or change the File 
Name. That about covers the Edit and Close Edit button.

To see the rest of the buttons that we will be talking about you must be in the edit mode, that is to say that 
you have clicked on the edit button and the list area has retreated.

Post Edit and the Cancel Action Buttons;
Want to see more buttons?  Well, just start to edit any of the Picture Name, Sequence, Category or Text 
fields and you will see two more buttons appear.  They are the Post Edit and the Cancel Action buttons.  
These are nice buttons as they allow you the option of posting your edits to the file, or changing your mind 
and canceling all your changes.  Although your changes will be recorded if you switch to a different image 
it is always a good idea to click the post edit button after editing.

Add Sound Button:
The add sound button brings up the Windows Sound Recorder and if you have your computer set up 
properly and have a microphone connected you can add voice to your images.  See the section under tips 
for sound tips.

Delete Picture Button:
This is the "I don't want it anymore button".  If you have an image in your ImageBase that you no longer 
want you can press this button and remove it.  This will remove the information from the ImageBase data 
file and remove the image file and the sound file (.WAV file).  Take note that you can not delete images 
from Image Bases on write protected or read only media.  Just remember, No write - No edit - No delete!

Get a New Picture Button:
Press the Add a New Picture button and a image file browser will appear. This will allow you to browse 
through your system and find an image that you want to add to your ImageBase.  If you cancel the file 
browser, it closes and nothing more happens.  But, if you select a JPEG or BMP image file you get to see 
the image and two more buttons.

Insert Button: 
After you have pressed the get a new picture button and have selected an image, you may review the image. 
If it is the image you want to add, press the insert button.  You will see a dialog box that offers you a 
chance to cancel the insert, change the image file name before inserting it or accept the current file name 
and insert the image into the book.  If you OK the insert the image will be inserted and the edit fields 
appear ready for input.  Complete the required information and press the Post Edit button.  You have added 
an image to your book.

Replace Button:
Use this button to replace an existing image.  Instead of adding a new image record this will replace the 
current image with the image selected.  Note that this does not remove the old image file from the disk 
unless the new image file name is the same as the current image file name.  In which case the new image 
file name overwrites the old image file name.

CD Button:
The CD button is that small button with a picture of a CD on it, and is located on the right just under the 
retreated list area. This little button does a big job.  It is the way you make new Image Bases on new CDs.  
Of course I assume you have a CD writer.  If not, you can make one book on each hard drive you have.  
There is really not much to do here, press the button and enter the drive letter for the drive you want the 
ImageBase placed on.  After you finish, press the Close Edit button and then Open New Book to access the 
new book.

That is it for our discussion on buttons.  As I have said before, if you wonder what it does, click it.  The 
buttons used here are mostly toggle or have a cancel selection so you can back up if it is not what you 
wanted to do.  

Two more items that I believe should be touched on are the Category Filter and the Name Filter. These two 
fields located in the lower right of the screen are of great importance when your Image Bases contain large 
numbers of images.  These filter the images so that you have a variety of  choices as to which images are 
available for viewing.  

Category filter:
The Category filter allows you to select a category and step through all the images in that category.  It 
filters out images that are not in the selected category.  The list area will contain only images that are in the 
selected category and they will be in either alphabetical or sequential order depending on which is selected.  
To select a category, press the arrow on the right side of the category filter field and chose a category from 
the popup list.

Name filter:
The Name filter is the real tool for locating images in the book.  Because the Picture Name is indexed the 
name filter can search for images by name and is as accurate as the name entered into the name filter field.  
The name filter will filter out all the picture names except for the one you entered.  This means that if you 
have a ImageBase with 700 images in it and one has the name "Moonlit night" and you type "Moonlit 
night" into the Name filter and press enter,  The image named Moonlit night will display and it will be the 
only image in the image list.  Now, if you wanted to see all the images of Bill, you would enter "Bill" in 
which case all images of Bill would be in the list. Bill on a bike, Bill in a tree, Bill swimming, Bill in scout 
uniform and Bill with dad.  Now if the only image of Bill that you wanted was Bill in a tree then you would 
have to enter "Bill in a tree".  If you entered a "B" all images with a picture name starting with B would be 
in the list.   If you entered "Bo" only images with a picture name starting with "Bo" would be in the list.  
The best way to learn how this works is to experiment. 

Tips and Tricks:

Here are a few things that might be of value as you use The ImageBase.  These tips and suggestions are 
here to explain a few things and maybe give you some ideas.  

Sequence Numbers:
Assign sequence numbers by 10s 20s or 100s.  Doing so will allow you to insert images into your books 
without having to renumber all the images to keep them in the order you like.  As an example, let's say you 
had a series of images in a book, and they were numbered 10, 20, 30, 40 and so on.  You could easily insert 
an image between 20 and 30 by assigning it a sequence number of 25.  Also, when assigning sequence 
numbers to images try assigning them in series according to your categories.  Your category "People" 
might have sequence numbers from 1000 to 3000, "Cars" sequence numbers 3000 to 4000, and 
"Landscapes" sequence numbers 6000 to 7000.  This allows all the categories to be in sequential order and 
all images to have a sequential order.  

Sequence numbers can be edited in the list column when visible.  This is handy when making changes to 
the sequential order.

Sound Tips:
Adding audio notes to your images is quite simple.  When the Windows Sound Recorder is active you press 
the red record button and then speak into your microphone.  Press the square stop button to end the 
recording and the arrow button to review the recording.  To save the recording click file and then save.  The 
sound file is attached to your image.  These files are .WAV files and have the same name as the image.

You may add any .WAV or .MID file to an image by changing the file name to the same name as the image 
file and the saving it to the PhotoBook\PictureFile folder.  As an example let's say you wanted the .MID 
tune  "Mary's Little Lamb" to play with your picture of Mary.  Mary's image file is named MaryH1.JPG 
and the MIDI file name is mlamb.mid.  In this case you change mlamb.mid to MaryH1.MID and save it to 
the PhotoBook\PictureFile folder.  Now when the image maryh1.jpg is selected "Mary's Little Lamb" will 
play.

Image sizes:
If you are using an image editor to crop and resize your images for the ImageBase you may want to keep in 
mind the viewing areas.  The main image area is 591 pixels wide by 443 pixels high.  The larger viewing 
area is 785 pixels wide by 536 pixels high.

It is time to jump right in and start organizing those images.  Get them named and categorized and then 
enjoy viewing them and sharing them with others.  If you have fun and enjoy this program or you have 
suggestions we would like to hear from you.  I thank you for evaluating and using this software.

Rex
FourPix Software
408 S. Intermediate Lk. Rd.
Central Lake, MI   49622-9792
