           !DrawLots
           =========
     
        v2.33  3/10/2001

This little application sits on the icon bar, and 
  produces Draw files of various geometric shapes.
  Clicking on the icon-bar menu opens a window in
  which the various choices are made.

The window has four sections, described below.

Groups
=======
In the top section, one of 4 sets of shapes may be selected.
The shapes in the selected set are displayed in the second area:

Shapes
====== 
 Curved   Arc
          Sector
          Segment
          Ring segment   - setting angle to 360 gives ring
          Curved Polygon (50p piece)
          Cog  with square teeth
            NB a cog with pointed teeth can be made from the Star
               shape in the Other section.
          Spiral   - of the form radius = constant*(angle ^ power)
               NB These become VERY large if power>2 and Turns>2.
                power=1 gives the Archimedes (equiangular) spiral.
          SineWave
          Flower    - with smooth petals
          Flower2   - with double petals
      
 4-sided  Curved Box  - a box with curved corners!
          Cut Box     - a box with cut-out curved corners!
          Kite         )  
          Parallelogram)  - each defined in 2 ways
          Trapezium    )
          Arrowhead
        
Triangles Equilateral
          Isosceles
          Right-Angled
          SSS
          ASA
          SAS
          
Other     Polygon
          Star
          Line star   ( lines joining vertices)   
          George Cross
          Andrew Cross
          Maltese Cross - 2 versions
          SquareSpiral       
          GreekKey
                           
Drawfile style
==============
in the third box, one of four line widths may be selected.
  The dimensions can be specified in inches or cm.
  If Fill is selected, a choice of winding rules may be made:
   check on LineStar to see the difference.

Parameters
==========     
The final box changes depending on the choice of shape, and allows 
the necessary values for each shape to be entered in 2 or 3 writeable icons
  eg  number of sides and their length for a polygon,
      width, height and radius of curve for a cut or curved box. 
      
By default the shapes are all saved as black lines, filled in white if Fill
  is selected, but the colours can easily be changed by changing
  the system variables DrawLots$Fill & DrawLots$Line, in the !Run file or
  at the command line. They should be set to &bbggrr00.
          
Incidentally, an effective frame can be made from a series 
  of cut boxes of increasing line width and size. 
  
Preview
=======
Clicking the Preview button opens a window which displays the 
  currently set shape. The shape is automatically redrawn after
  changing any settings. The preview window has a coloured background 
  to show up any filled shapes.  For the 3 and 4 sided shapes, a window 
  will open given details of the sides and anlges of the shape.

Saving
======
The shape can be saved, or dragged directly into !Draw, by 
pressing Menu over the window, which gives a save box, Clicking on 
the Save icon or from the icon-bar menu.      
  
  
Defaults file
============
The default shape, line width and units and default values for all the 
shapes can be changed by editing the file !DrawLots.Defaults - the 
format is fairly clear!
The order of the shapes in each section can also be changed by changing 
the order of the lines in this file - but KEEP A BACKUP before modifying 
it, and do not change the numbers at the start of each line, or the 
program will fail to work correctly.

For use with younger children, the lines corresponding to any unwanted
shapes can be commented out by preceding them with | - they will then
not appear on the display. Any group with no shapes will not appear 
in the list. 

The icon-bar menu gives access to the Details file for editing, but the 
new values will not take effect untl the program is re-rerun.

           

Any comments/suggestions/requests for new shapes/payment to

miskin@argonet.co.uk

     Mrs Rosemary Miskin
     23 Hardwick Drive
     Loughborough
     LE11 4TJ
     
Versions:
2.33 Oct 2001 Bug in info window for isosceles triangles fixed
              Quick-save works correctly.
              Save name behaves more consistently
2.32 Aug 2000 Minor bug-fix
2.31 Apr 1999 Second Maltese cross added
2.30 Feb 1999 Shapes grouped into 4 sets
              3&4 sided shapes expanded &
                  info window added
              Window made more customisable.    
2.21 Jan 1998 Added triangles
              Shaded unused parameter icons
              Added flexbility to Kite
2.2  Apr 1997 Added sine curve, flowers, square spiral, greek key
              Option to change default shape
2.15 Mar 1997 Fixed obscure bug with saving to Draw windows  
2.14 Feb 1995 Added Ring segment,Arrowhead
              Preview improved - scaling removed
              Square cog improved
              Fill option added              
2.12 Nov 1994 Added Curved polygon, cogs & spiral.            
              Added Trapezium,//gram
2.10 Oct 1994 Preview window to see defined shapes
              Bugfix in curved boxes.(!)
2.01 Sep 1993 Bugfix in curved boxes.
2.00 Sep 1992 Main window introduced for setting-up
              Increased range of shapes
1.00          Selection from menus

              

         