Pinnacle Systems FXDEKO, User Manual

Page 1: ...280 N Bernardo Mountain View CA 94043 FXDEKO TM Bringing a new level of Effects to Character Generators User s Guide Software Version 4 1 PPN 51002588 Revision F...

Page 2: ...Reserved Portions of the software described in this document Copyright 1991 2001 Arthur D Applegate All Rights Reserved The Sentry Spelling Checker Engine Copyright 1993 Wintertree Software Inc All R...

Page 3: ...raphic 17 Saving a Graphic File 17 Opening a Graphic File 20 Keying 23 Frame Grabbing 24 Suppressing Motion 24 Composing Text Selecting Text 26 Selecting a Typeface 27 Using an International Character...

Page 4: ...ine 61 Underline Attributes 62 Frame 63 Frame Attributes 64 Cutting and Pasting Details and Looks 65 Specifying a Shader About Shaders 67 Activating a Shader 68 Applying a Color 68 Applying a Ramp 69...

Page 5: ...ewing a Layer 100 Effects Motions and Sequences About FXDeko Effects 102 Single Effect Playback 103 Creating a Sequence 104 Browsing for Graphics in a Sequence 106 Selecting Events 106 Cutting and Pas...

Page 6: ...o 146 Playing a Macro 147 Pausing a Macro 147 Stopping Macro Playback 148 Single Stepping a Macro 148 Editing a Macro 149 Saving a Macro 149 Appending to a Macro 150 Converting a Graphic Sequence or M...

Page 7: ...Clip 194 Menu Commands cont Edit 194 File 196 Help 198 Layer 198 Macro 199 Motion 200 Options 200 Presets 201 Sequence 202 Shader 203 Style 204 Text 205 Timecode 206 View 207 Window 208 Appendixes Sh...

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Page 9: ...for selecting fonts and styles Like a page layout program FXDeko allows total flexibility in positioning text and full color graphic elements on the screen Like a presentation program FXDeko plays ba...

Page 10: ...that you read the chapter An Overview of FXDeko It provides an overall description of FXDeko s user interface and operating philosophy OTHER DOCUMENTS Hardware issues including installation and setup...

Page 11: ...choose About Precise description of problem and attempted solutions Exact wording of any error messages Pinnacle Systems Technical Support by Phone Customer Service U S 650 930 2990 Customer Service...

Page 12: ...unch any application program including FXDeko You must be privileged as a System Administrator or Power User to run FXDeko For more information about Windows NT refer to the Windows NT documentation s...

Page 13: ...ogram Manager do one of the following Press Ctrl Alt Delete then choose Logoff Double click the control icon at the left end of the Program Manager title bar then choose Log off From the File menu cho...

Page 14: ...14 Introduction FXDeko User s Guide another user can log back on Shared files are not accessible from other networked workstations...

Page 15: ...graphic files You create a FXDeko graphic including text and background elements in either a Preview or Program window Once created a graphic may be saved on disk in a graphic file A graphic consists...

Page 16: ...ires exclusive use of your system s OpenGL sub system to produce video output To prevent disruption of FXDeko s video output do not run any other OpenGL applications or screen savers To specify dual p...

Page 17: ...om the File menu choose Save Graphic As F12 3 In the dialog box navigate to the drive and directory where you will store the file 4 Type a new file name in the File Name text box then click OK or pres...

Page 18: ...p for faster recall 4 Click OK or press Enter Note Graphic files that are saved with pre rendered bitmaps occupy more disk space but can be retrieved much faster To save a graphic with an automatic co...

Page 19: ...Creating and Saving Graphics 19 FXDeko User s Guide 3 Under When saving TIFF and Targa files check Save with alpha channel 32 bit 4 Click OK or press Enter...

Page 20: ...Windows Bitmap bmp Photo CD pcd PCX pcx Photoshop psd Windows metafile wmf TIFF tif Targa tga JPEG jpg Graphics Factory stills gf videoDesigner stills tv Kseries Presto ppic 20k and Pinnacle g files c...

Page 21: ...ale to fit Stretches a 4 x 3 graphic horizontally but not vertically to fit the full 16 x 9 screen Compresses a 16 x 9 graphic horizontally but not vertically to fit the 4 x 3 screen For non native no...

Page 22: ...22 Overview of FXDeko FXDeko User s Guide To re open the graphic file in the active window From the File menu choose Revert...

Page 23: ...text box then click OK or press Enter Note You can reverse this process to transfer graphics from FXDeko to GF Halo Only graphic files still targa tiff and dko g and bmp can be shared Text files are...

Page 24: ...o enable frame grabbing of shaped input video Input Video Is Shaped Select to enable frame grabbing of shaped input video This selection is not available if Grab With Key is not selected To grab a fra...

Page 25: ...press 2 Do one of the following Check Interpolate Scan Lines to specify interpolation between every other scan line Check Duplicate Scan Lines to specify duplication of every other scan line 3 Check e...

Page 26: ...t Choose Select More from the Edit menu For each block of text use arrow keys to move the cursor to the beginning or end of the text block then hold Shift and press arrow keys to select the block To s...

Page 27: ...o text is selected FXDeko applies changes to the current style 2 Do one of the following From the View menu choose Browser then choose Browse Typefaces from the File menu On the text bar click the Typ...

Page 28: ...on point where you wish to insert the character 4 Click the desired character in the International window Note Not all TrueType fonts include every character in every character set The International w...

Page 29: ...or uncheck Bold To change normal text to italic 1 Select the text to be changed or select nothing to change the current style 2 Do one of the following Press the italic button on the text bar Ctrl I A...

Page 30: ...comes the rotation tool 4 Drag to rotate selected text To specify a numerical value for rotation 1 Select the text to rotate If no text is selected FXDeko applies changes to the current style 2 Activa...

Page 31: ...Double click the Skew text box then type or scroll to a value Negative values skew text counterclockwise and positive values skew text clockwise Note Skew can be used to italicize text to angles diffe...

Page 32: ...ansform Move Ctrl M 2 In the Options menu choose Transform and set increment of change to Coarse or Fine Ctrl spacebar 3 Select a text field 4 Hold Alt down and press arrow keys to move the text field...

Page 33: ...de or corner of selected text so that the pointer becomes one of the scaling tools 4 Drag a handle either outward to increase or inward to decrease text size Corner handles control height and width to...

Page 34: ...r becomes the kerning tool 4 Drag the handle either outward to widen spacing between characters or inward to decrease character spacing To specify a numerical value for kerning 1 Select the characters...

Page 35: ...ecify a numerical value for character width 1 Select the characters to change If no text is selected FXDeko applies changes to the current style 2 Activate the Style window 3 Choose Font at the top of...

Page 36: ...dle downward to increase the space between rows or upward to reduce row spacing To specify a numerical value for leading 1 Select the text for leading If no text is selected FXDeko applies changes to...

Page 37: ...2 From the Edit menu choose Paste Ctrl V or click the paste button on the text bar Note When you cut or copy text it is saved in the Windows NT clipboard Unlike moving text cutting and pasting text ch...

Page 38: ...ing Choose Find Next Ctrl G to find and select the next occurrence of original text Then choose Replace to remove and replace selected text or Find Next to skip to the next occurrence of original text...

Page 39: ...text to move 2 Click the move button in the Tools window 3 Move the pointer near the dotted line surrounding selected text so that the pointer becomes the moving tool 4 Drag to move selected text in...

Page 40: ...h then choose the desired setting From the Text menu choose Justify then select a setting for horizontal justification vertical justification or both The choices are self explanatory except for full a...

Page 41: ...ustify text using the keyboard 1 Select the text or select nothing to justify the entire field of text 2 Hold Ctrl down and press one of the numbers on the numeric keypad to justify selected text in t...

Page 42: ...tab stop a similar tab marker is displayed to the left of the first character at the tab stop To clear a selected tab stop 1 Tab to the tab stop 2 From the Text menu choose Tab Clear To clear all tabs...

Page 43: ...s window To paste a cut or copied tab stop 1 If necessary open the file into which you will paste the tab stop 2 Position to text cursor where you will insert the cut or copied tab stop 3 From the Edi...

Page 44: ...Check 2 In the Spell Check dialog box select Options 3 Click or Tab to select from the check box options Ignore capitalized words Ignores all capitalized words such as names of people or places Ignore...

Page 45: ...ble Undo In the Edit menu check or un check Undo enabled Notes The default setting is Undo enabled Undo uses several megabytes of space on your hard drive and may slow some FXDeko operations Disabling...

Page 46: ...aseline menu check Draw Curve Click the curve drawing tool button in the Tools window 4 Position the drawing tool where you will begin the curve and drag the mouse to draw the curve To draw a line seg...

Page 47: ...e baseline and remain in Baseline Edit mode choose Apply Baseline Enter from the Baseline menu To apply the baseline and close the Baseline Edit window choose Accept Baseline Alt Enter from the Baseli...

Page 48: ...Bezier curve To adjust the continuity between two Bezier curves 1 In the Baseline menu check Edit Curve 2 Click the point shared by the two curves 3 In the Baseline menu do one of the following Check...

Page 49: ...t fonts and how to create a Custom Typeface To change the attributes of the current font Do one of the following Use the text bar to choose the current typeface size bold italic and justification rule...

Page 50: ...text A value of zero produces the default row spacing Values greater than zero increase the space between rows values less than zero decrease it Kerning Controls the spacing between characters A valu...

Page 51: ...witch to the Windows NT Program Manager 2 In the Main program group double click Control Panel 3 Double click Fonts 4 Select the fonts to install Refer to help for the Fonts dialog box for detailed he...

Page 52: ...t the character Then from the File menu choose Import Character On the command bar type cface import code where code specifies the character the default is 97 Code 0 uses the current selection To impo...

Page 53: ...o specify custom typeface properties 1 Activate the Custom Typeface window and open the custom typeface 2 In the Custom Typeface window click Properties 3 Edit properties as desired then click OK Cust...

Page 54: ...e Look Window to control all aspects of the current look including additional edges shadows etc THE STYLE LOOK WINDOW To display the Style Look Window 1 In the View menu Choose Style F6 2 Click Look A...

Page 55: ...pplies changes to the current style 2 Do one of the following Click the shader button next to the face button on the text bar only for the first face of a look Open the Style window F6 select Look Alt...

Page 56: ...ront to back in the order they appear in the Details list Use Priority to change the rendering order Priority ranges from 0 closest to viewer to 1000 farthest from viewer Priority also controls the re...

Page 57: ...FXDeko applies changes to the current style 2 Activate the Style window 3 Choose Look at the top of the Style window 4 In the Details list choose the edge FXDeko displays Edge Attributes in the lower...

Page 58: ...farthest from viewer Priority also controls the rendering order of overlapping details from different styles From previous detail Specifies which other details in the look provide the shape on which t...

Page 59: ...the text to change If no text is selected FXDeko applies changes to the current style 2 Do one of the following Click the shader button next to the shadow button on the text bar only for the first sh...

Page 60: ...e Controls the distance of the shadow from the shadowed detail s Priority Determines whether the shadow appears in front of or behind other details By default FXDeko assigns a priority to each detail...

Page 61: ...text is selected an underline is added to or removed from the current style 2 Click the underline button on the text bar to toggle the underline on or off This button controls only the first underlin...

Page 62: ...ne with rounded corners square produces an underline with rectangular corners Height Controls the height of the underline The default value is 100 percent Width Specifies an additional amount of under...

Page 63: ...n or off This button controls only the first frame of a look To add additional frames 1 Activate the Style window 2 Choose Look at the top of the Style window 3 Next to the Details list choose Add the...

Page 64: ...me round creates a frame with rounded corners square creates a frame with rectangular corners Height Specifies the height of the frame Width Specifies the width of the frame H offset Offsets the frame...

Page 65: ...e window 3 In the Details list click on the detail you wish to cut or copy 4 Do one of the following To remove the selected detail from its current position choose Cut Detail Ctrl X from the Edit menu...

Page 66: ...you wish to copy 2 From the Edit menu choose Copy Ctrl C then Look 3 Select the text or position the cursor where you will apply the look 4 From the Edit menu choose Paste Ctrl V or click the paste b...

Page 67: ...oduces a detail with keyed video Note that you cannot use a keyhole shader in an effect Any detail can have any kind of shader For instance a face can have a color shader an edge a ramp shader and a s...

Page 68: ...7 on the text bar To activate the shader for any detail in the current style 1 Activate the Style window 2 In the Style window click the desired detail in the Details list box 3 In the Style window cl...

Page 69: ...k the Hilite button to set it to that color 4 Check the Hilite box to turn the highlight on 5 Choose Options and specify highlight options as desired Ramp Options Group Specifies how the ramp should b...

Page 70: ...double click a thumbnail in the Texture Browser 4 Specify texture options as desired Notes The texture is copied from its file in its original size and pasted onto the detail Texture size doesn t cha...

Page 71: ...Specifying a Shader 71 FXDeko User s Guide replaces the texture filename with the texture filename in the counter...

Page 72: ...the name of the texture file they cannot store an unnamed texture Group Specifies how the texture should be applied letter applies the texture individually to each letter word applies the texture to...

Page 73: ...e of the group and the right edge of the texture with the right edge of the group You can use this setting to make fancy frames V Alignment Specifies how the original texture is mapped onto the select...

Page 74: ...n Options File Name The first file name of the animation Each file cel within the animation should be named with successive cel numbers e g globe001 tga globe002 tga globe003 tga etc There are two Fil...

Page 75: ...rom the drop down menu 5 Enter the layer number of the layer that contains the CAP shader in the Layer number text box 6 Specify other motion descriptor parameters as desired 7 To view the cel animati...

Page 76: ...and gray have zero saturation A 100 percent saturated color is pure color it contains no white or gray Value the brightness of the color represented by the maximum of either red blue or green While n...

Page 77: ...d Green and Blue or Hue Saturation and Value Enter an amount for Opacity if desired 3 To deposit the color into a color shader or ramp shader right click on one of the color buttons near the top of th...

Page 78: ...et shader from the drop down menu To save the current preset shaders 1 Activate the Shader window F7 2 From the File menu choose Save Preset Shaders Ctrl S or Alt F12 or Save Preset Shaders As F12 3 T...

Page 79: ...yping in new sample text To move the Current Style window 1 In the Window menu make sure Freeze is not checked 2 Move the selection cursor over the window s title bar 3 Drag the window anywhere on the...

Page 80: ...ow F6 2 Choose Save Style Ctrl S or Alt F12 from the File menu FXDeko replaces the previously saved version of the file COPYING AND PASTING A STYLE To copy and paste a style 1 Select text whose style...

Page 81: ...te a graphic window 2 From the Text menu choose Pick Presets FXDeko assigns the first style in the graphic to the first preset button the next style to the second preset button and so on RETRIEVING A...

Page 82: ...ES To save the eight preset styles in a Presets file 1 Activate the Preset Style window Alt F7 2 Choose Save Preset Styles As F12 from the File menu 3 In the dialog box navigate to the drive and direc...

Page 83: ...Notes When saving a pre rendered style FXDeko renders each character in the style s font using the style s look For complicated styles this can take several minutes A pre rendered style file occupies...

Page 84: ...are switching to a new standard you must recalibrate all levels and delays FXDeko maintains a separate set of values for each standard ABOUT LAYERS AND BACKGROUNDS Each graphic consists of a backgrou...

Page 85: ...ader determines its color Like all FXDeko shaders the background can be a solid color a ramp or a texture THE LAYER BROWSER The Layer Browser shows a thumbnail image of each layer in the current graph...

Page 86: ...ckground Ctrl F9 3 In the dialog box navigate to the drive and directory that contain the file 4 Choose the file from the File Name list box or type the file name in the File Name text box then click...

Page 87: ...oard From the Layer menu choose Add Text Field FXDeko adds a text layer based on the boundaries of the safe title area To add a text field to a graphic using the mouse 1 Click the add text field butto...

Page 88: ...The width and height of the text field box Aspect The ratio of width to height Fixed aspect Maintains field aspect ratio whenever width or height changes Transform Defines how the text field box is t...

Page 89: ...ox Scales text up or down to exactly fit the text field Shrink to fit box Scales text down if necessary to fit within the text field Text initialization Determines how the text field is initialized wh...

Page 90: ...r menu choose Add Ellipse An ellipse layer is added at the center of the screen To add an ellipse to a graphic using the mouse 1 Click the ellipse button in the Tools window 2 In the graphic the curso...

Page 91: ...e Horizontal and vertical scale factors Rotation Rotation in degrees Skew Skew amount H Origin V Origin The center of rotation Same priority as previous layer Specifies that the current layer appears...

Page 92: ...text scaling Scale to fit box Scales text up or down to exactly fit the layer Shrink to fit box Scales text down if necessary to fit within the layer Text initialization Determines how the layer is in...

Page 93: ...d Page Up or Page Down to the layer Choose Layer Browser from the View menu then click the thumbnail image of the layer in the browser Choose it from the list at the bottom of the Layer menu To select...

Page 94: ...pecify a clock ID If you are editing an existing clock specify the clock ID 3 Click Configure and specify clock parameters To display a clock in the current text layer 1 Open the Layer Properties wind...

Page 95: ...yers From the Edit menu choose Clear Layers F8 Note Clear Layers replaces all the layers in the graphic with a single empty text field The Background remains intact To clear text from a text field 1 S...

Page 96: ...er Note FXDeko appends the second graphic s layers behind those of the first The second graphic s background is not used REORDERING LAYERS To reorder layers in the active graphic Do one of the followi...

Page 97: ...COMBINING TEXT FIELDS To combine multiple text fields into a single text field 1 Select the text fields you wish to combine Hold Ctrl and drag the mouse to select the fields 2 From the Layer menu choo...

Page 98: ...xt layer 1 Select the rectangle ellipse or text layer 2 Do one of the following On the text bar click the appropriate justification button to alter horizontal justification vertical justification or b...

Page 99: ...er 3 Position the pointer near the border of the layer so that the pointer becomes the rotation tool 4 Drag to rotate the layer To specify a numerical value for rotation 1 Select the layer 2 Activate...

Page 100: ...n the field To change the size of the text field without scaling the text change the Box value in Text Field Properties SKEWING A LAYER To skew a layer using the keyboard 1 From the Options menu choos...

Page 101: ...or Size 101 FXDeko User s Guide To specify a numerical value for skewing 1 Select the layer 2 Activate the Style window 3 Choose Layer at the top of the Style window 4 Double click the Skew text box t...

Page 102: ...Each row of the Preview graphic rolls on screen from the bottom of the row cut The Preview graphic replaces the Program graphic dissolve The Program graphic fades out as the Preview graphic fades in...

Page 103: ...NGLE EFFECT PLAYBACK To open an Effect Playback window Do one of the following From the Windows menu choose Select Layout then Effect Playback From the View menu choose Effect Playback Shift F11 To pl...

Page 104: ...ectory search path it prompts you to browse for the file CREATING A SEQUENCE To open a Sequence window Do one of the following From the Windows menu choose Select Layout then Sequence Playback From th...

Page 105: ...ayers The graphic element e g layers background row etc on which to perform the effect Options depend on the specified effect Leave this column blank to perform the effect on the entire graphic File N...

Page 106: ...owse for graphic files to add to a sequence 1 Activate the Sequence window F11 2 Do one of the following From the Sequence menu choose Browse for Files Ctrl L Select Browser from the View window Ctrl...

Page 107: ...m the current to the last event Do one of the following Press Shift End Press Ctrl Shift End Note Which keys you press depends on how you have Home and End key behavior set in Options Preferences Curs...

Page 108: ...ndow F5 2 In the Text menu select Vertical Scrolling A scrollable graphic can be higher than one screen height 3 Compose the text for the roll scrolling down as necessary 4 Save the graphic To run a r...

Page 109: ...aphic for a crawl effect 1 Activate a graphic window F5 2 In the Text menu select Horizontal Scrolling 3 Compose the text for the crawl If you are composing more than one row of text to crawl use the...

Page 110: ...peed changes in a roll or crawl graphic 1 Position the cursor where you would like the speed change to occur 2 In the Text menu select Insert Speed 3 Click Pause or select a speed from the drop down m...

Page 111: ...111 FXDeko User s Guide COMMAND EVENT One additional powerful sequence feature command event is available with the Automation option Command event runs the macro specified in the File Name column duri...

Page 112: ...existing motion mot file 1 Activate the Motion window 2 From the File menu select Open Motion 3 Navigate to the drive and directory that contain the file 4 Double click the file name to open the file...

Page 113: ...ct relative to its screen position Layermove Moves the object relative to its layer s bounding box Objectmove Moves the object relative to its bounding box Objectwipe Wipes the object relative to its...

Page 114: ...m of the Layer menu You can specify a wildcard layer for similarly named layers For example in a graphic with the layers Rectblue Rectgold Rectgreen and Rectpink you can designate Rect as the layer na...

Page 115: ...se out and in Decelerates then accelerates Size This specifies the width or height of the object throughout the selected motion If you do not specify a size value OVR might appear next to the paramete...

Page 116: ...n ease out Starts rotating at full speed and decelerates ease out fast Starts rotating at full speed and decelerates faster than ease out ease in and out Accelerates rotation then decelerates rotation...

Page 117: ...ease in ease out Starts to increase or decrease opacity at full speed and decelerates ease out fast Starts to increase or decrease opacity at full speed and decelerates faster than ease out ease in a...

Page 118: ...choose Append to Motion 3 In the Append Motion dialog box navigate to the directory that contains the motion mot file to append to the open file 4 Choose the file from the File Name list or type it in...

Page 119: ...the corresponding descriptor 2 Drag the offset bar to change in and out times equally or drag only one end of the offset bar right or left to adjust the in or out time 3 Drag the offset bar to change...

Page 120: ...e Pause button again to resume the motion To stop a motion during playback Click the Stop button on the Motion Editor toolbar USING THE TIMELINE OPTION If your FXDeko has the Timeline option enabled t...

Page 121: ...it a motion with the scrub bar enabled but you cannot edit a motion during playback To change the path for the selected motion parameter The path indicator next to the graph shows how the timeline rep...

Page 122: ...ottom to Home Absolute to Home Top to Bottom Scale The timeline expresses X scaling and Y scaling of the object throughout the selected motion in arbitrary units from 0 00 to 10 0 full scale If you do...

Page 123: ...ine Tools You can use the Timeline Tools on the Motion Editor toolbar to select edit add delete or move points on the timeline Edit points Allows you to change the type of the selected point Insert po...

Page 124: ...nt FXDeko always begins a sequence with the current event To play a sequence 1 Activate the Sequence window 2 Do one of the following Click the play button in the Sequence window Choose Play Sequence...

Page 125: ...click the mouse Click the pause button in the Sequence window Choose Pause Sequence Pause from the Sequence menu Choose Play Sequence Alt Enter from the Sequence menu Click the play button in the Sequ...

Page 126: ...equences FXDeko User s Guide STOPPING SEQUENCE PLAYBACK To stop sequence playback Do one of the following Press Esc Click the stop button in the Sequence window Choose Stop Sequence Playback Ctrl Paus...

Page 127: ...series of graphic files Macro Edit To create and edit macros Macro Record To see a macro as it is being recorded Motion Compose To create and edit motions Typeface Edit To create and edit user defined...

Page 128: ...o save current settings and user preferences In the Options menu check Save Settings Now To automatically save current settings each time you exit FXDeko In the Options menu check Save Settings on Exi...

Page 129: ...o factory default settings 1 From the Options menu choose Preferences 2 In the dialog box choose the type of preference you wish to change Common Prompts Paths Cursor Markers or Advanced 3 In the dial...

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Page 131: ...board You can also turn FastAction Lights on or off You can enable the Enhanced Keypadfor fast action access to graphic files The enhanced numeric keypad is available even without the FastAction Keybo...

Page 132: ...PATHS PREFERENCES Current Directory Specifies the four current directories based on file types graphics dko sequences seq automation aut styles sty preset styles pst shaders shd macros mcr motions mo...

Page 133: ...r to the left of the cursor Home and End key behavior Determines whether the Home and End keys behave as they typically do in Windows applications or as they do on a traditional television character g...

Page 134: ...rence number only not related to the pixel resolution of the output frame buffer You can set it to any convenient value Text rendering Specifies a time limit for FXDeko to render text If FXDeko is una...

Page 135: ...word wrap automatically for all new text fields Font size based on FXDeko allows you to specify whether to base font size on row height or cap height Show actual font size in Presets box The buttons...

Page 136: ...ames Warning Unlike many Windows applications FXDeko does not always open a new window when you open a file If a window of the appropriate type is already open FXDeko opens the file into that window r...

Page 137: ...e click the control icon in the upper left corner of the FXDeko application window From the File menu choose Exit Alt F4 To have FXDeko prompt to save modified files before closing them 1 From the Opt...

Page 138: ...hoose Create Directory 2 In the dialog box navigate to the drive and directory where you will add the new directory 3 Type a directory name in the Directory Name text box then click OK or press Enter...

Page 139: ...der clip with a Deko graphic and store Deko files in a Lightning database on your Deko s hard drive or a networked Lightning system To Install Thunder Browse 1 Connect the Thunder dongle to the parall...

Page 140: ...alog box choose Network Neighborhood 4 Double click the remote system name the exported drive usually D the Lightning directory then the database pff file you wish to open SETTING UP A DATABASE ON DEK...

Page 141: ...C is the default setting or choose 625 for PAL 7 Thunder automatically enters other field values for you Click Create 8 From the File menu of Thunder Browse choose Open navigate to the new database pf...

Page 142: ...tion with the image you picked loaded into the Preview or Program window whichever was active when you left the application If Deko is already open you can drag and drop an image from Thunder Brose to...

Page 143: ...ialog box you can edit any of the file details which default to the details of the last saved image Deko automatically picks an available empty number for you We recommend against changing the number...

Page 144: ...nter Some commands have user defined parameters The Prompt button on the Command Bar opens a Command Prompt dialog box where you can specify parameter values A Defaults button in the Command Prompt di...

Page 145: ...at contain the macro file 3 Choose the macro from the File Name list box or type the macro name in the File Name text box then click OK or press Enter Warning Unlike many Windows applications FXDeko d...

Page 146: ...rom the Macro menu On the text bar the button lights up red to indicate that the macro recorder is on 2 Use the keyboard and or mouse to perform the sequence of actions that will constitute the macro...

Page 147: ...most recently activated Macro window To play a macro file 1 If the Command Bar is not visible choose Command Bar F4 from the View menu 2 Click the text box on the Command Bar 3 Type the macro file nam...

Page 148: ...lights up green STOPPING MACRO PLAYBACK To cancel macro playback Do one of the following Click the stop button near the right end of the text bar Choose Stop Macro Playback Ctrl Pause from the Macro...

Page 149: ...t a text txt file as a macro just by opening it in the Macro window To edit macro parameters 1 If the Command Bar is not visible choose Command Bar F4 from the View menu 2 Click the text box on the Co...

Page 150: ...file from the File Name list or type it in the File Name text box then click OK or press Enter CONVERTING A GRAPHIC SEQUENCE OR MOTION INTO A MACRO To convert a graphic sequence or motion into a macr...

Page 151: ...amples of valid commands are justify rotate str2num edge_shader FXDeko commands fall into several categories Some categories correspond directly with items on the FXDeko menu bar e g File Edit Channel...

Page 152: ...supply the name of the file to satisfy the name parameter file_open myfile A command and its parameters normally occupy one line of a macro and a space separates one parameter from the next If a comm...

Page 153: ...ed by 0 The following illustrates examples of the all switch parameter of the tab_clear command tab_clear all or tab_clear all 1 tab_clear noall or tab_clear all 0 String A string parameter specifies...

Page 154: ...of the rgb command represent the amounts of red blue and green that make up the color You can assign an object to a variable gold rgb 100 100 0 You can specify an object parameter with an embedded com...

Page 155: ...e array A subscript must be an integer or an expression that returns an integer For example an array named table might include these elements table 3 table 42 table count 1 table 9999 FXDeko allocates...

Page 156: ...156 Working with Macros FXDeko User s Guide Other system variables may be assigned values For example the system variable wordwrap can be set to 0 to disable word wrap or 1 to enable it...

Page 157: ...ion A 1 has the value B Using single quotation marks in an expression yields the numerical value of the character key For example A 1 has the value 66 Comparison operators compare values and determine...

Page 158: ...are elements of arrays or elements of objects Operator Expression Data Accessed a b item b of array a a b b element of object a Bitwise operators perform operations on integers based on bit position...

Page 159: ...right 4 bits a 4 shifts a left 4 bits a ok concatenates ok to a assigns string to a a 2 bitwise AND a and 2 assigns result to a a 2 bitwise OR a and 2 assigns result to a a b bitwise exclusive OR a an...

Page 160: ...e multiple line comments This is a multiple line comment None of this text affects the function of this macro FXDeko ignores every line of it CONDITIONAL COMMANDS AND LOOPS Conditional commands instru...

Page 161: ...ies of commands multiple times Loop commands include loop while and for The easiest way to define a loop is to use the loop command and specify the number of iterations loop count commands end The mac...

Page 162: ...ine a 1 end The for command for makes an incremental loop such as the one above more concise for a 1 a 5 a 1 type hello newline end The initial expression a 1 is executed once The test expression a 5...

Page 163: ...rn the value of its expression parameter to the macro that called it return expression For example you might have a simple command called test that returns 1 if successful or 0 if not command test if...

Page 164: ...ses ramp top_left rgb 100 100 0 You can access any element of an object with the element operator to edit the element s value or to assign it to a variable for use elsewhere To edit yellow to make it...

Page 165: ...Macro Programming Language 165 FXDeko User s Guide b integer a 5 b equals 13...

Page 166: ...uals 123 45 To convert a string to its numeric equivalent Use the command str2num a 123 b str2num a b equals 123 To convert a string up to 4 characters to ASCII code integer Use the command str2ascii...

Page 167: ...purchase include Aston Import Automation Chyron Import ClipDeko DVE Effects Group 2 FastAction Keyboard SportsWare Timeline To see what FXDeko options are enabled on your system From the Options menu...

Page 168: ...to the directory that contains the Aston file and click the file to select highlight it 2 Click the Convert button Deko converts the file and opens it in the active graphic window Note Once you have...

Page 169: ...omation option is not necessary to control FXDeko externally using Grass Valley Group protocols EMEM and PEGS THE AUTOMATION WINDOW To open the Automation window From the View menu select Automation A...

Page 170: ...request updates from the host at user specified intervals See Database Connection below for information about connecting to standard databases with Deko To define a layer for automation 1 Open the Au...

Page 171: ...Alt Shift O to enter the current output timecode Type a timecode To set intime to outtime 1 Open the Sequence file 2 In the Sequence Window select the event 3 From Timecode Menu choose Set Intime to...

Page 172: ...ing query feature which sends inquiries to a newsroom automation system Database queries send inquiries to database files which may be stored on a local system drive or accessed by a LAN or WAN To use...

Page 173: ...he driver for which you want to set up a data source then click Finish 5 Type in a Data Source Name 6 Click the Select button navigate to the database file then click OK Click OK two more times to clo...

Page 174: ...later in this section Display Field The field whose value to display in the layer Create Query Associates this database query with the current layer Read Query Reads query associated with the current...

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Page 176: ...drive and close the drive door 2 Activate a Program or Preview window 3 From the View menu choose Chyron import To import a Chyron message file 1 Open the Chyron Import window 2 Navigate to the drive...

Page 177: ...hen navigate to the mapping file 3 Double click the file name or click Open 4 Click OK or press Enter To convert a Chyron logo font into a custom typeface 1 Open the Chyron Import window 2 Navigate to...

Page 178: ...in a database You can access clips in 2 ways The Clip Editor allows you to import record play and loop your clips as well as assign key clips to fill clips and align a fill clip with its associated ke...

Page 179: ...As it plays verify that it appears properly on the system video output To import a clip to the browser database 1 Open the Clip Editor then click the Import button 2 In the Import Clip dialog box nav...

Page 180: ...fill clip that has been assigned a key clip 4 In the Clip Editor select Scrub Key 5 Use the thumbwheel or the double arrow keys to align the key clip with the fill clip 6 Click Set Offset PLAYING CLI...

Page 181: ...en Play In to Out is not checked Deko will play the clip from beginning to end ignoring the In and Out points Once you specify an In point and or an Out point and check Play In to Out Deko begins at t...

Page 182: ...In the Clip Editor click the loop button under the thumbwheel 2 Specify number of times to loop in the box next to the Loop button 3 Play the clip USING THE CLIP BROWSER Clips are organized alphabeti...

Page 183: ...m window or play an effect on the graphic To rename a clip 1 Do one of the following In the browser click the clip name to highlight it then click it again Click the clip to select it then right click...

Page 184: ...ktop The Enhanced Keypad feature is available even without the FastAction Keyboard option Deko displays the keypad on your VGA monitor The numeric keypad can be enabled to provide fast action access t...

Page 185: ...ION KEYBOARD FUNCTION KEYS Browse Graphics Activates deactivates the Graphic Browser Window Browse Typeface Activates deactivates the Typeface Browser Window Center Row Toggles centering on current cu...

Page 186: ...lays a Preview graphic s associated effect Preview Activates the Preview Window Print Screen Provided for standard PC keyboard Program Activates the Program Window Read Reads in the file shown in the...

Page 187: ...ates the Sequence Playback layout Shader Activates the current Shader Window Stop Stops a sequence playback Style 1 Style 8 Selects preset styles from the currently active Preset Window Tab Set Sets a...

Page 188: ...acro autoplay To enable Macro Autoplay 1 In the Options menu choose Preferences 2 In the Preferences dialog box choose Common then check Automatically play macros when opened 3 Click OK or press Enter...

Page 189: ...nd type a name in the File name text box 6 Choose Save Selection To create a place pop 1 Activate a Program or Preview window 2 Create a layer for the text or use the default layer 3 Choose a preset s...

Page 190: ...ko pops the text into the current or selected layer of the graphic then automatically selects the next layer behind it It does not create a new layer for the pop To place pop text onto a graphic 1 Ope...

Page 191: ...ine option enabled the Motion Editor provides a timeline graph which displays the selected motion parameter as y and the time or duration for the motion as x The figure below shows what your Motion wi...

Page 192: ...n the Bezier curve control points on either side of the selected point Delete Selected Point Deletes the selected point from the baseline Draw Curve Enables the curve drawing tool for drawing in the B...

Page 193: ...will not filter out a curve s wobbles caused by an unsteady drawing hand CHANNEL ClipDeko Enables ClipDeko features on Dekos with the ClipDeko option Color Bars Displays color bars in the active grap...

Page 194: ...c in the Preview window with graphic in the Program window CLIP Stop Shift Alt S Stops clip playback Play Shift Alt P Plays the loaded clip Pause Shift Alt A Pauses clip playback Clear Shift Alt C Sto...

Page 195: ...er Ctrl C Copies the active shader to the clipboard Copy Sprite Ctrl C Copies the current sprite or selected sprites from the active Motion window to the clipboard Cut Ctrl X Removes the selected text...

Page 196: ...s changes that have been canceled using Undo Replace Ctrl H Replaces an existing character string with a new character string Select All Ctrl A Selects all text in all layers of the active graphic Sel...

Page 197: ...ndow Change Directory Changes the browsing directory Close Ctrl F4 Closes the active window Create Directory Creates a new directory The new directory does not automatically become the current directo...

Page 198: ...trl S Alt F12 Saves the active file Overwrites the previous version of the same file Save As F12 Saves the active file under a user specified name Overwrites any existing file with the same file name...

Page 199: ...erties window Allows a user to view or change properties of the selected layer in the current graphic Reorder Layers Renumbers layers based on their positions on the screen from top to bottom and from...

Page 200: ...line or motion descriptor from the active Motion window Insert Motion Descriptor Inserts a new line or new default motion descriptor into the active Motion window OPTIONS Configure Clip Server Provid...

Page 201: ...cursor row and all rows beneath it up or down Transform Rotate Skew Ctrl R Selects rotate and skew mode In this mode Alt and Alt rotate the selected text or layer and Alt and Alt skew it Transform Sc...

Page 202: ...lt Delete Deletes the current event from the active sequence Enable Keyer For Motion Playback Sequence Menu Enables the keyer during motion playback GPI Settings Displays current GPI Trigger settings...

Page 203: ...uence From Memory SHADER Background Shows or hides the current graphic s background A check mark means the background is currently being shown Background Shader Displays the current graphic s backgrou...

Page 204: ...corner of the current ramp shader Set Shader Color Deposits the current color into the current color shader Shadow Adds or removes the first shadow in the current look Shadow Shader Displays the shad...

Page 205: ...nt row of text with the row below it Exchange Up Exchanges the current row of text with the row above it Horizontal Scrolling Turns horizontal scrolling on or off for the active graphic Justify Sets t...

Page 206: ...in the current text field Vertical Scrolling Turns vertical scrolling on or off for the active graphic Word Wrap Turns word wrap on or off A check mark means that word wrap is currently on TIMECODE S...

Page 207: ...Clip box used for recording clips Command Bar F4 display Displays or hides the Command Bar A check mark indicates that the Command Bar is displayed on the desktop Current Style Displays or hides the...

Page 208: ...check mark indicates that the Shader window is displayed on the desktop Status Bar Displays or hides the status bar A check mark indicates that the Status Bar is displayed on the desktop Style F6 disp...

Page 209: ...ze Windows Locks windows in their current position A check next to Freeze Windows indicates that windows are frozen To un freeze windows so you can move them about on the desktop un check Freeze Windo...

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Page 211: ...AYERS Clear Layers F8 Clear Background Ctrl F8 Clear Layers and Background Alt F8 or F8 F8 Bring Layer Forward One Ctrl plus key Send Layer Back One Ctrl minus key Bring Layer To Front Alt plus key Se...

Page 212: ...E Find Ctrl F Find Next Ctrl G Replace Ctrl H FORMATTING TEXT Bold Ctrl B Italic Ctrl I Underline Ctrl U JUSTIFYING TEXT Justification Off Ctrl NumPad0 Bottom Left Ctrl NumPad1 Bottom Center Ctrl NumP...

Page 213: ...reset Style 6 Shift F6 Preset Style 7 Shift F7 Preset Style 8 Shift F8 SELECTING TEXT Select Character Shift arrow keys Select All Ctrl A SEQUENCE Pause Sequence Pause Cancel Sequence Ctrl Pause Play...

Page 214: ...Graphic Style Shift Style 4 Style 5 Style 6 Alt Exit Deko Preview Program Ctrl Close Window Pick Style F7 F8 F9 Shader Clear Read Open Shift Style 7 Style 8 Alt Preset Styles Clear All Append Layers C...

Page 215: ...active this title bar is highlighted usually in blue unless you ve changed the Windows NT color scheme arithmetic operator An arithmetic operator is a symbol that performs a mathematical operation suc...

Page 216: ...he control point on the other side of the shared point will move in concert to maintain the linear connection C2 continuity C2 continuity produces the smoothest continuity between two connected Bezier...

Page 217: ...nce clipboard The clipboard is the Windows NT temporary holding area for text or other data that has been cut or copied from a FXDeko graphic macro style or sequence When you cut or copy a selection i...

Page 218: ...n them such as equality is true or false If an expression is true its value is non zero if false its value is zero conditional command A conditional command tells FXDeko to execute a block of statemen...

Page 219: ...Look settings in the Style window FXDeko displays the current style in the Current Style window Any text you type in a graphic appears in the current style When text is selected the current style beco...

Page 220: ...file using an effect In a motion An event describes the movement on or off air of some element of a graphic expression An expression is a combination of variables commands and operators that results...

Page 221: ...licitly deleted using the free command or until FXDeko is exited glyph The word glyph comes from the Greek glyphe meaning a pictograph or other symbolic character or sign In FXDeko glyphs are actual r...

Page 222: ...sition the browser anywhere to see as many thumbnails as you like Type the first one or two letters of a graphic s name to jump to the thumbnail of that graphic Double click the thumbnail to use the g...

Page 223: ...more space between characters A negative kerning amount tightens the spacing between characters key signal A key signal is a black and white video signal that when used with a keyer tells the keyer h...

Page 224: ...g rhymes with wedding linear key signal A linear key signal varies from black to white including intermediate gray shades This is in contrast no pun intended to a hard key signal which has areas of ei...

Page 225: ...on any entry brings up a pull down menu of commands Click on a command to perform it Commands followed by an ellipsis bring up an additional window for more information to be entered minimize button...

Page 226: ...s boxes fonts and looks The letter command which adds a letter to a text field includes two object parameters font and look letter character font look tx ty code insert show attach The font parameter...

Page 227: ...played click Sample in the Typeface Browser and type in new sample text By default sample text on the buttons shows fonts in their actual sizes You can have the buttons display all fonts in standard s...

Page 228: ...Resolution The default value for screen units is 486 in NTSC and 576 in PAL restore button The restore button appears on the right side of a window s title bar Clicking this button restores the window...

Page 229: ...ution Once you set the number of vertical units the number of horizontal units is automatically set to 4 3 of that amount For convenience the default value for screen units is 486 in NTSC and 576 in P...

Page 230: ...A string operator is a command or symbol that operates on character strings Most string operations are performed by commands string parameter A string parameter specifies one or more alphanumeric cha...

Page 231: ...any common text functions text box Text boxes are Windows NT controls in which you type or otherwise enter information text cursor The text cursor shows where in a text field the next typed character...

Page 232: ...frequency winner world space Screen location is indicated on the status bar expressed as either world space or screen space Screen space is a literal representation of the video frame buffer and varie...

Page 233: ...enu commands 184 85 Bitwise operators 151 Blurring edge 54 face 53 frame 61 shadow 57 underline 59 Bold applying or removing 26 version of current typeface 47 Break command 154 Browser inserting graph...

Page 234: ...iew of 14 specifying preferences for 123 28 Detail See Look details Dissolve 98 E Edge adding or removing 53 blurring 54 changing attributes of 54 changing color of 54 hiding 54 priority among other d...

Page 235: ...different standard or format 126 converting into Macro 144 creating a 16 files 14 layers of 80 missing 125 preview 15 program 15 rendering time limit 128 saving a 16 using as a texture 67 Graphics Fac...

Page 236: ...der Using 140 Macro window working in 139 Macro Window 138 Motion creating 108 18 115 18 183 suppressing 21 22 Motion menu commands 192 Moving layer 93 94 tab stops 39 text 38 40 O Objects 156 57 acce...

Page 237: ...Saving a graphic 16 a macro 143 44 a pre rendered style 48 a sequence 101 a style 75 76 as pre rendered style 78 79 files 131 32 preset shaders 64 74 prompt before 90 125 Scaling layer 95 96 ramp 66 t...

Page 238: ...moving 38 40 rendering time limit 128 rotating 26 27 26 27 scaling 29 30 85 88 selecting 23 skewing 27 28 47 spell checking 40 41 underlining 41 45 Text case changing 26 29 small caps 28 Text commands...

Page 239: ...fined 149 Video standard changing 80 View menu commands 199 200 W While command 155 Window clearing 125 closing 125 opening 125 position on desktop 122 23 Windows NT changing keyboard layout 25 clipbo...