
The free Econym plugins
=======================

These plugins may well work with any program capable of using Adobe compatible plugins, but
they've only been tested with PaintShopPro 7, PaintShopPro 8 and Irfanview.

The plugins in this section are special purpose plugins for processing 16-bit greyscale TGA
files, such as those used in POVRay for heightfields. They don't do anything useful to images
that are in conventional RGB or greyscale formats.

Note that some graphics programs (e.g. PaintShopPro 8) will not output TGA files in the 
format required by POVRay 16-bit heightfields. Other programs (e.g. Irfanview, Paint Shop Pro 7)
will output HF_Grey_16 format files. 


Installation
============

Copy the plugins into [a subdirectory of] your plugin folder, then [re]start your graphic
application.

For PSP8 I'd suggest creating a new folder inside MyDocuments\MyPSP8Files\plugins and
keeping just your Econym plugins there, and ensure that "scan subfolders" is enabled in the
corresponding "File Locations" preference.

General Operation
=================

Click the [+] and [-] zoom controls to zoom the preview image.
Shift-click the [+] zoom control to jump to 100% zoom.
Shift-click the [-] zoom control to scale so that the whole image is visible.

Click [Random] to randomize all the control settings.
Click [Reset] to set all the controls back to the factory defaults.
Click [Cancel] to close the plugin without applying the effect.
Click [OK] to apply the effect and close the plugin.

You can set the control values by:-
 Dragging the sliders with the mouse.
 Clicking the nudge arrows, which typically adds/subtracts 1 from the value.
 Clicking in the slider track, which typically adds/subtracts 10 from the value.
 Selecting the slider and pressing the arrow keys.
 Typing a numerical value into the number box.

Image Types
===========

These plugins expect to work on 16-bit TGA files as used for POVRay 16-bit heightfields.

These plugins only operate on the currently active image layer.

If the image has a selection, the effect will only be applied inside the selection.

The plugins honour layer transparency, but you might not get what you expect when you use
the result in POVRay. TGA format doesn't support transparency.


HF16 Log
========

If you have a 16-bit greyscale TGA file in which most of the detail is lost in the
dark parts, then this plugin might possibly enhance that detail and make the image
more usable. It applies a logarithmic rescaling to the image brightness.

Note that most (all?) graphics programs will display a 16-bit greyscale TGA file
as if it were an RGB file with rather strange red and green colour patterns.

16-bit grey: The output from the filter will be as an RGB image, with the same
8-bit value applied to each colour channel.

HF_Grey_16: The output from the filter will be as a 16-bit greyscale TGA.

HF16 Process
============

Performs linear brightness and contrast adjustments and non-linear gamma adjustments 
to a 16-bit greyscale TGA image.

Because the input sliders only work with integers, you should set the slider to 100
times the required gamma adjustment value. E.g. for gamma 1.4 set the slider to 140.

The ouput is always a 16-bit greyscale TGA, which will probably be displayed as
if it were an RGB image with strange red and green colour patterns

The preview shown in the plugin GUI is shown as a conventional greyscale image,
rather than an undisplayable 16-bit greyscale, so that you can get an idea of what 
is really happening to the image.



Support
=======

I change my email address from time to time to control spam. My current email address is
displayed on my web page http://www.econym.demon.co.uk
