Find Image Cataloging on the HTML page.

PictView — Multi-format image viewer and converter in a small package.

* * * * *

[added 1997, updated 2000-07-20]

Relatively small (147K), fast, versatile, and configurable. This program packs both image viewing and format conversion functions into an efficiently coded program.

PictureViewer is a mouse-driven viewer and converter of images. It runs on all EGA, VGA, SuperVGA and Extended-VGA video adapters. PictureViewer is able to read images stored in approximately 40 graphics file formats (140 versions) and convert them into another format. All functions are extremely fast, up to 10 times faster than other programs.

Other features: Optional command-line loading of images; fit image to screen, hi and low quality JPEG decompression (including progressive JPEGs); animated GIFs, display adapter and screen resolution options; configuration.

Notes: No slideshow or image preview options. Requires 80386+, EGA+, 300+ KB RAM. XMS recommended.

BMI	CPT	HRZ	JPG	PC2	PSD	SGI
BMP	CUR	ICN	LBM	PCD	PYX	ST
BW	CUT	ICO	MAC	PCT	QFX	STW
CAL	DCX	IFF	MIL	PCX	RAS	SUN
CDR	DIB	IMG	MSP	PGM	RGB	TGA
CDT	FLC	JFF	OFX	PIC	RLE	TIFF
CEL	FLI	JIF	PAN	PNG	SAM	UDI
CLP	GIF	JMX	PAT	PNM	SCx	WPG
CMX	HAM	JPEG	PBM	PPM	SEP	ZBR

Author: Jan Patera, Czech Republic (2000).

2000-07-19: v1.94.

Download pictview.zip (106K).

See the PictView page for revision history, Czech and French versions, Win16 and Win32 versions (view only), and Win32 console image converter.

LxPic — Tiny, portable JPG, BMP, GIF viewer with big features.

* * * * *

[added 1997, updated 2003-01-20]

LxPic was not designed for PCs equipped with the latest quantum warp accelerated 3D graphics cards. Instead, LxPic is suitable for nearly any PC running DOS – from the lowliest 8088, B/W laptops and palmtops, to the latest desktops. It is the most "portable" graphics viewer listed here. With a 19.5K (!) binary and 64K mem requirement, disk and memory needs shouldn't be issues for users. CGA and DOS 2.11 or better are required. The program and its author get five stars just for this feat of programming.

• Coded in assembly language, LxPic is one of the fastest viewers available.
• High (64K) and True color (16.7M) screen modes, VESA BIOS Extension 3.0 compatible.
• There are plenty of display options that can help you generate the best image output for your system. (B/W display, CGA/EGA/VGA/HP palmtop support, contrast, brightness, RGB effects, dithering). Supports 10 different pixel aspect ratios.
• LxPic reads most varieties of BMP, PCX, JPG, and GIF images, including multi-image (animated) GIF files.
• While LxPic has no integrated directory browser, it does display, in succession, all supported images in the current directory. The N and P keys (or left and right mouse button) allow you to proceed to next or previous image. The J and L keys generate a screen of thumbnails. Full image information is available using the T key. Numeric keypad +/- zoom in and out.The /S switch allows LxPic to automatically recurse through subdirectories. LxPic will accept single file names and wildcards on the command line.
• Zooming and slideshow options are available.
• Online help screen provides a handy reference to all commands.
• Optional configuration file LxPic.CFG available.

Author: Stefan Peichl / DOS Palmtop Freeware, Germany (2002).

2002-12-12: v7.3.

Download lxpic.zip (39K).

More in these pages from Stefan Peichl.

ShowJPG — Fast and small command line JPEG viewer.

* * * * *

[updated 2003-02-13]

• A small (28K) JPEG viewer that is fast and command line driven.
• Makes a great "helper" app for file managers, web browsers, etc.
• High quality decompression option (slower) .
• Supports baseline and progressive JPEGs, JFIF, Raw and MacBinary JPEGs. Subsampling types 1x1:1:1, 1x2:1:1, 2x1:1:1 (2:1:1) and 2x2:1:1 (4:1:1) only.
• 386+ and VESA compatibility required, XMS recommended.

Usage: ShowJPG  File_name [Width] [-q] [-l] [-c] [-dTime] [-tTime] [-e] [-k]
File_name may be memory address in the form :SSSSOOOO where SSSS is the segment
  and OOOO is the offset part, both hexadecimal.
Width is a number specifying the width in pixels of the graphics mode that
  ShowJPG will use to display the image. Any graphics mode with this width must
  be supported by the video adapter and must be HiColor or TrueColor for color
  images and must be 256-color for black-and-white images.
-Q or -q commands ShowJPG to read the image by a slower method, but preserving
  high quality of the image.
-L or -l enables exiting ShowJPG with left mouse button.
-C or -c clears the screen under Windows95.
-D or -d delays Time milliseconds under Windows95.
-T or -t ShowJPG exits after Time milliseconds.
-E or -e ShowJPG exits immediately without clearing screen.
-K or -k keeps the screen unchanged before decompressing.
Use + and - keys to zoom-in and zoom-out the image.
Use arrow keys and a mouse to scroll.

Author: Jan Patera, Czech Republic (2001).

2001-10-18: v2.81.

Download showjpg.zip (20K) from the Pictview page.

PixView — JPG, GIF, and BMP image viewer with slideshow.

* * * * (v2.2).

PixView is a good 32-bit JPG, GIF, and BMP image viewer and is comparable to the popular shareware product QPV in speed, navigation and display capabilities. The directory listing screen is easy to navigate with a mouse. PixView requires 80386+ PC and a VESA driver to display images at resolutions other than 320X220X256 color/gray (no driver support for graphics cards). Includes zoom and slideshow features but no image preview. Built-in configuration, but PixView doesn't save some settings (e.g., default file masks). One shortcoming of the freeware version is the inability to load files on the command line (the shareware version allows this, has true color support, load-while-display feature for slide show, and optimized compilation). Although the docs say there is no GIF89 support, I've successfully loaded GIF87, 89, and 89-interlaced images. Supports progressive JPGs. 32-bit DJGPP build, requires 80386+ and a DOS Protected Mode Interface (CWSDPMI, [included] or other). Supports LFNs under Win9x.

Bugs (?): I haven't used the v2.3 extensively, but it has locked my system a couple times and not all mouse functions seem to work in viewing mode (e.g., r-button exit). Never a problem with previous versions. Still doesn't seem to save file masks.

Author: Davide Rossi, Italy (1998).

1998-01-26: v2.3.

Download pixv23.zip (141K).

Get more info at The PixView Home Page.

LWhiz — Command line image viewer for JPEG, GIF and other formats.

* * * *

This is a good helper app for file managers. Coded in assembly language: fast and small (exe is 33K).

Supported formats: JPEG, GIF, TIF, PCX, TGA, PNM, WPG, LBM, ICO, BMP and PhotoCD ( 768x512 ). Analyzes signatures of files when loading (not file extensions): format detection is more reliable. Allows viewing images up to a resolution of 1280x1024 in TrueColor. "Screen Magnifying-Glass" magnifies a large square area around mouse pointer – a smart idea for systems that lack the memory to show zoomed full images. Can magnify this area by several powers using the "+" key. No directory browser – load files from the command line. Slideshow capable.

Requires: 80386+, 2MB RAM; VESA compatibility; 1MB+ video memory.

Author: Refco, Scotland (1997).

1997-09-07: v1.32.

Download lwhiz.zip (53K).

OMBRA — Fast GIF, TGA, PCX, BMP, RAW image viewer, more.

* * * *

Ombra is a fast 32-bit viewer that stands out among the crowd because it supports real time zooming with a mouse as well as real time cycling of brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, rgb, and other effects. Although Pentium-optimized this program is quick even on an old 386. Effects, image resolution, and other commands are accessed from semi-transparent drop-down menus. Files are loaded from the command line: OMBRA makes a good helper app for file managers. Requires 80386+, VESA compatibility highly recommended.

The current release supports the following image formats:

Reads GIF (87a, 89a +interlaced), TGA (8 to 32 bit, uncompressed), PCX (2-color up to true-color), BMP (1-, 4-, 8-, 24-bit; raw, rle4 and rle8); Read and writes to HSI RAW format (note: Display can convert RAW to other formats).

Author: Jih-Shin Ho, Taiwan (1996-97).

1997-10-03: v7.22.

Download ombra722.zip (98K).

Display — Image viewing and conversion package.

* * * *

[updated 2006-08-21]

Display is a robust 32-bit image viewing and conversion package. Display is not small – a full installation chews up about one MB of disk space (but some files can be deleted – see the FAQ). Supported image and movie formats include BMP, RLE, TIF, GIF, JPG, TGA, ICO, PCX, AVI, MPEG, MOV, GL, DL, FLI, and, uniquely, several less common image formats. Progressive JPEGs are supported. In addition, text file viewing is supported (ANSI files) as is UUE and MIME en/decoding, and WAV, AU playing. The interface is generally clean and is mouse compatible (under DOS only).

• Image preview available.
• Display can create contact sheets (somewhat complicated) and can create FLI files from a sequence of individual images.
• Several image manipulation options are available (smooth, scale, etc.).
• An optional font package is available for use with contact sheets.
• Basic file management built-in.

The principle drawback of Display is its slow dithering of true color images compared to other viewing packages here, although even this can be tweaked by adjusting dithering settings. The latest AVI movie standards (interlaced) and some MOV formats are not supported in v.189. Setup may be a challenge for some.

Author: Jih-Shin Ho, Taiwan (1996-97).

QPNG/386 — PNG and TGA image viewer.

* * * * *

[updated 2005-04-10]

QPNG/386, which is a special freeware version of the famous shareware QPV/386, reads only the PiNG (PNG) and Targa (TGA) formats. Preview Image, Zoom and Slideshow options are available as are basic file management commands. The smartly designed interface is identical to QPV's. For PNG files, QPNG supports all bit depths (1 to 16 bits/sample), background transparency, interlacing, and gamma correction. Driver support for some video cards, but VESA recommended (use the VESA2CFG utility to create a VESA CFG file).

Author: Oliver Fromme, Germany (1995).

Download qpng17e.zip (335K).

More in these pages from Oliver Fromme.

JPEG — Command-line image format conversion utilities.

* * * *

[updated 2006-03-14]

JPEG is a speedy command-line conversion utility, designed to process and output full color, 24-bit images. Lower resolution images can be smoothed, but might not look very good. Each package contains two main executables, CJPEG for converting images to JPEG format, and DJPEG for converting JPEG files to GIF, BMP, TGA, or PBM format. Also included are a tool that converts between JPEG types, and text processors. Progressive JPEG format is supported. Many options are included: compression quality, smoothing, dithering, scaling, and advanced options like quantization and color mapping. This is a great utility for performing batch conversions and is optimized for 80386 or better machines (but a 16-bit, 80286 version is available). The JPEG bundle does not include an image viewer. Runs under DOS3.0+, and in a Windows or OS/2 DOS box.

80386 versions are 32-bit DJGPP builds that require a DOS Protected Mode Interface (provided by CWSDPMI or an OS). They run 25-50% faster than the 16-bit 80286 versions.

Author: Independent JPEG Group (1998).

Legal issues. Notable in v6b is the removal or modification of GIF related features because of GIF patent considerations. From the docs:

The IJG distribution formerly included code to read and write GIF files. To avoid entanglement with the Unisys LZW patent, GIF reading support has been removed altogether, and the GIF writer has been simplified to produce "uncompressed GIFs". This technique does not use the LZW algorithm; the resulting GIF files are larger than usual, but are readable by all standard GIF decoders.

Unisys U.S. LZW Patent No. 4,558,302 expired on June 20, 2003, the counterpart patents in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy expired on June 18, 2004, the Japanese counterpart patents expired on June 20, 2004 and the counterpart Canadian patent expired on July 7, 2004.

So if you want to create compressed GIFs, it appears that use of v6a is legal. Or if you already have v6a, there is no need to replace it with v6b. We offer links to v6b because its download package (80386 version) is smaller than v6a's, source is available, and for formats other than GIF it's the same as v6a.

NConvert — Multi-format image converter / viewer package.

* * * * 1/2

[added 1999-01-08, updated 2005-04-20]

This suite of 32-bit DOS image viewing and conversion programs may be too large and tedious for the casual user, but it possesses several unique and favorable characteristics:

• The image conversion (NConvert) and viewing (NView) programs read a whopping 300+ graphics formats; the converter currently writes nearly 50 formats.
• NConvert represents one of the few up-to-date *command interface* converters / image manipulators for DOS – useful for batch conversion.
• Multi-platform availability: Win9x/Me/NT/2K, Win3.1 (req. Win32s support), Atari, Linux, FreeBSD, BeOS, OS/2, Sun x86, Sun Sparc, HP-UX, AIX, and Silicon Graphics.

NConvert is the command line converter which includes several advanced image manipulation options. The included viewers (NView, View2) read the same formats as NConvert and while adequate for basic viewing, are comparatively large (550K+) for their lack of features. NVIEW is the command line viewer while VIEW2 incorporates a directory browser with slideshow capability. Neither includes mouse support.

Special requirements: 80386+, math coprocessor (80387 FPU, or 80486+ CPU), DOS/4GW extender (included). VESA compatible video recommended. The View2 interface language is French; the docs and companion programs are available in English although some program output is in French. Special Notes: You may need to manually execute the DOS extender DOS/4GW on the command line (using the program name, options, and file as parameters).

Author: Pierre-emmanuel Gougelet / XnView, France (2002).

2002-12-03: v3.87.

Download vwi86.zip (1.5MB).

bmp2png and png2bmp — Convert graphics files, BMP to PNG, and PNG to BMP.

unrated

[added 2005-12-09, updated 2006-03-14]

bmp2png converts Windows or OS/2 BMP bitmap graphics to PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format. It can read 16/32 bits/pixel BMP, bitfield BMP, and RLE-encoded BMP files. png2bmp converts PNG files to BMP format. DOS versions are 32-bit DJGPP builds, require 80386+ and a DOS Protected Mode Interface (CWSDPMI, or other). Win32 console versions are also available. Copyrighted freeware.

Usage: bmp2png.exe [-switches] inputfile(s) ...
   or: ... | bmp2png.exe [-switches] | ...

List of input files may use wildcards (* and ?)
Output filename is same as input filename, but extension .png

Switches (case-insensitive) :
   -0..-9   Compression level (default: -6)
   -I       Create interlaced PNG files
   -P color  Mark the specified color as transparent
             color: #RRGGBB(html hex) / RR,GG,BB(decimal) / NN(palette index)
   -F type[,...]  Specify filter type(s) used to create PNG files
                  type: none,sub,up,average(avg),paeth,all,auto(default)
   -A, -B   Preserve alpha channel
   -O name  Specify name for output file
   -D dir   Output files into dir
   -E       Delete input files after successful conversion
   -T       Set the timestamp of input file on output file
   -Q       Quiet mode
   -L       Log errors to .\B2PERROR.LOG file
   -X       Disable conversion through standard input/output


Usage: png2bmp.exe [-switches] inputfile(s) ...
   or: ... | png2bmp.exe [-switches] | ...

List of input files may use wildcards (* and ?)
Output filename is same as input filename, but extension .bmp

Switches (case-insensitive) :
   -A       Preserve alpha channel (save in 32bit ARGB BMP format)
   -B       Preserve alpha channel (save in 32bit Bitfield BMP format)
   -R       Convert transparent color to alpha channel (use with -A or -B)
   -O name  Specify name for output file
   -D dir   Output files into dir
   -E       Delete input files after successful conversion
   -T       Set the timestamp of input file on output file
   -Q       Quiet mode
   -L       Log errors to .\P2BERROR.LOG file
   -X       Disable conversion through standard input/output

Author: Masaru Miyasaka, Japan (2005).

2005-09-04: v1.62.

Get more English-language info and source code for DOS / Windows / Linux at the bmp2png / png2bmp home page.

Get the Japanese-language Win32 package and info at the bmp2png & png2bmp (Win32 Console) page.

More of the author's programs can be found at Software Laboratory Alpha.

TTM (TeraLogic Texture Maker) — Create background texture images for HTML pages.

* * *

[updated 2005-03-02]

TTM is a graphics mode program that creates and saves background texture images commonly used in HTML pages. TTM could conceivably be used as a texture creator for programs like POV-Ray. Images are saved to uncompressed 24-bit TGA format. The mouse compatible interface is easy to navigate. Includes a good variety of effects like relief, plasma, shadowing, and waves. Context sensitive help window. Available for 16-bit DOS and for Win32 console.

Note: DOS version has the Borland Pascal 7 CRt bug. Patch the EXE using bp7pat.

Author: Tobias Reichert, Germany (1997). Suggested by Marianna Van Erp.

Go to the new Texture Maker site for latest Windows (98+) version (free trial only), the still-free Genetic Textures v1.0, and collections of texture files.

pngcrush — Optimize PNG images.

* * * * *

[added 2001-11-11, updated 2004-06-13]

Pngcrush is an optimizer for PNG (Portable Network Graphics) files. It can be run from a commandline in an MSDOS window, or from a UNIX or LINUX commandline. Its main purpose is to reduce the size of the PNG IDAT datastream by trying various compression levels an PNG filter methods. It also can be used to remove unwanted ancillary chunks, or to add certain chunks including gAMA, tRNS, iCCP, and textual chunks.

usage: pngcrush [options] infile.png outfile.png
       pngcrush -e ext [other options] files.png ...
       pngcrush -d dir [other options] files.png ...
options:
      -already already_crushed_size [e.g., 8192]
    -bit_depth depth (bit_depth to use in output file)
        -brute (Use brute-force, try 114 different methods [11-124])
            -c color_type of output file [0, 2, 4, or 6]
            -d directory_name (where output files will go)
 -double_gamma (used for fixing gamma in PhotoShop 5.0/5.02 files)
            -e extension  (used for creating output filename)
            -f user_filter [0-5]
          -fix (fix otherwise fatal conditions such as bad CRCs)
        -force (Write a new output file even if larger than input)
            -g gamma (float or fixed*100000, e.g., 0.45455 or 45455)
         -iccp length "Profile Name" iccp_file
         -itxt b[efore_IDAT]|a[fter_IDAT] "keyword" "text"
            -l zlib_compression_level [0-9]
         -loco ("loco crush" truecolor PNGs)
            -m method [0 through 200]
          -max maximum_IDAT_size [default 8192]
        -nofilecheck (do not check for infile.png == outfile.png)
            -n (no save; does not do compression or write output PNG)
     -plte_len n (truncate PLTE)
            -q (quiet)
       -reduce (do lossless color type or bit depth reduction)
          -rem chunkname (or "alla" or "allb")
-replace_gamma gamma (float or fixed*100000) even if gAMA is present.
          -res dpi
         -save (keep all copy-unsafe chunks)
         -srgb [0, 1, 2, or 3]
         -text b[efore_IDAT]|a[fter_IDAT] "keyword" "text"
   -trns_array n trns[0] trns[1] .. trns[n-1]
         -trns index red green blue gray
            -v (display more detailed information)
      -version (display the pngcrush version)
            -w compression_window_size [32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1, 512]
            -z zlib_strategy [0, 1, or 2]
         -zmem zlib_compression_mem_level [1-9, default 9]
        -zitxt b[efore_IDAT]|a[fter_IDAT] "keyword" "text"
         -ztxt b[efore_IDAT]|a[fter_IDAT] "keyword" "text"
            -h (help and legal notices)
            -p (pause)

Remarks: One of the most common uses of pngcrush is to decrease the file size of PNG images created with other software (e.g., try the -brute switch). Requires 80386+. Open source freeware.

Author: Glenn Randers-Pehrson (2002).

2002-07-20: v1.5.10. Three variants: DOS runs under DOS or in a Windows DOS box ("might have problems with long filenames"). DOS-MMX runs under DOS or in a Windows DOS box, on an MMX machine. Win runs under Win32 only.

See the Pngcrush overview for more info, or go direct to the File list page at SourceForge for docs, and source code for v1.6.3.

GIF-TOOLS — Create animated and transparent GIFs.

unrated

[updated 2005-12-09]

GIF-TOOLS is a suite of special purpose GIF utilities:

GIFInfo		Give information about a GIF file
GIFMake		Create GIF animations and transparent GIFS.
GIFStamp		Add (any size) comments to a GIF file
GIFStrip		Strip control blocks and images from a GIF file
GIFSplit		Break a multi-image (animated) GIF file down into individual frames.

Author: Samiel / SamTig Software (1997).

1997-07-21: v2.1.

Also see GIFtrans, next item.

GIFtrans — Produces transparent GIF files for web pages.

* * * *

[updated 2006-03-14]

GIFtrans will convert a GIF87 graphic to a GIF89a with a transparent color background. Comments can be added or removed. Available in 16-bit and 32-bit (80386+) compilations. Download packages include C source code. Ported from Unix, released under GNU General Public License.

Usage: giftrans [options] [-o filename] filename

Usage: giftrans [-t color|-T] [-B color] [-b color] [-g oldcolor=newcolor]
       [-c comment|-C] [-l|-L|-V] [-o filename] [-e filename] [filename]

OPTIONS
-h   Print short help on stdout.
-t   Specify the transparent color
-T   Index of the transparent color is the background color index
-B   Specify the transparent color's new value
-b   Specify the background color
-g   Change a color in the global color table
-c   Add a comment
-C   Remove old comment
-l   Only list the color table
-L   Verbose output of GIFs contents
-V   Verbose output while converting
-o   Redirect stdout to a file
-e   Redirect stderr to a file
Colors may be specified as index, as rgb.txt entry or in the #rrggbb form.

EXAMPLE
To convert the white background of a gif file to transparent, use
     giftrans -t #ffffff file.gif > transparentfile.gif

Author: Andreas Ley, Germany (1996).

Get source code, Unix-format manual, and compilations for OS/2, Unixes & Amiga at the GIFtrans ftp directory.

Get source code for a patched v1.12.3, and plain text docs from Programs by Anthony Thyssen.

Also see VBX — Character mode drawing with text & hex editing.

GrafX2 — 256-color bitmap painting program.

* * * *

[added 1997-11, updated 2005-04-20]

Good freeware paint programs for DOS are rare. GrafX2 is a nice 256-color painter supporting 60 resolutions that underwent several cycles of beta development before the original authors ended their effort. If you rely on Windows Paintbrush for drawing, you should try this much superior alternative. GrafX2 is missing some important features (no add text tool). Docs in French & English. Source code (C / French) available. Released under GNU Public License.

• Toolbar functions include: Paintbrushes, Adjust picture, Effects, Hand-drawing, Splines, Lines, Spray, Floodfill, Polygons / Polyforms, Polyfills / Filled polyforms, Empty rectangles, Filled rectangles, Empty circles/ellipses, Filled circles/ellipses, Rectangles with gradation, Gradation menu, Spheres / Ellipses with gradation, Brush grabbing / restore, Polyformed brush grabbing (lasso) / restore, Brush effects, Drawing modes, Text, Magnifier mode / Menu, Pipette / Invert colors, Screen size / Safety resolution, Spare page / Copy current to spare, Save picture / Autosave, Load picture / Reload, Settings, Clear picture, Help / Statistics, Oops (Undo/Redo), Quit, Palette menu, Scroll palette left / right, Palette window, Hide menu.
• Very interesting selection of special effects, e.g., excellent 256-color smoothing, gradation effects, and multi-effect spray can.
• File formats: Reads and writes GIF, BMP, PCX, LBM, and more.
• Lots of configuration options. Good documentation (In English, some may be offended by use of the "F" word).
• Limitations: 256-color, a few features are not yet implemented (e.g., adding text), no online help.
• Program requirements: 386DX, DOS 5+, VGA (VESA compatibility recommended), mouse, 5 MB RAM (less if you use the DOS/4GW disk-cache). It runs on my 386sx/20 without VESA but screen drawing is slow.

1999-12-23: v2.00 beta 96.5%.

Authors: Guillaume Dorme & Karl Maritaud, France (1999).

IMPROCES — 256-color image processor / bitmap paint program.

unrated

[added 1999-06-19, updated 2005-06-05]

While this image processor and bitmap painter hasn't been updated in years, it remains an excellent choice as a DOS paint program, especially if you own an older PC (runs great on my 386/20 laptop).

• Supports resolutions from 320x200x256 through 1024x768x256 (no true color support)./li>
• Formats supported:
  • Reads: GIF, PCX, TGA (Type II uncompressed) and PRF.
  • Writes: GIF, PCX 16 Color, PCX, 256-color and PRF
• Edit multiple images at once using paging feature.
• Clipboard for cutting and pasting between images.
• Virtual screen feature allows panning images larger than screen.
• Palette management.
• Full suite of painting and image processing tools (incl. many special effects filters)

Requirements: DOS 3.0+, MS-compatible mouse, 512K RAM (XMS/EMS can be used), 80286+ CPU. An FPU will also be utilized if it is found. Most users will need VESA video compatibility and 64K-1MB video memory; there is some dedicated video card support (c. 1993).

Formerly shareware, now freeware. Registered and unregistered program operation are the same, except for "nag" screens that pop up until the program is registered. To register: Place IMREG.KEY in the program directory. Thanks to Greg Head for providing the key file.

Author: John Wagner (1993).

1993-03-15: v4.2.

OGE (Orfelyusuv Graficky Editor) — 256-color bitmap painting program.

unrated

[added 2000-01-11]

This program has an English interface – but the docs are in Czech. Seems best suited to older PCs (80286+) with VGA support. OGE's simple interface belies a surprisingly rich program underneath. But with the absence of English documentation, OGE may require exploration by the user to discover many features lurking within the remarkably small (58K) binary. Source code available, under GNU General Public License.

A quick and incomplete summary of features discovered while testing the program:

• Appears to be limited to using 256 colors.
• Common image formats supported: PCX, GIF.
• Icon Toolbar allows easy access to painting tools.
• Mouse activated, context aware popup menus.
• Line, polygon, circle drawing, spray can, flood/fill, selection tools, zoom, undo.
• Selection resize, flip, rotate...
• Special filters available (and easily make your own).
• On-screen palette (use m. button 2 to expand a basic color). Good palette management features.
• While not multi-window, OGE can manage several images.
• No "add text" tool?

Quick hints: OGE relies on mouse button 2 for finishing many tasks initiated with mouse button 1 (e.g., to complete object and selection drawing, pop-up menus...). Double clicking on certain toolbar icons allows setting of custom parameters (spray can speed, fill pattern, ...). Manipulate selected areas (flip, rotate, ...) using the mouse button 2 pop-up menu. ESC displays full screen picture.

Requirements: 80286+ PC, VGA, mouse. Has the Borland Pascal 7 CRT bug – see TSR runtime fixes.

Author: Daniel Skarda, Czech Republic (1996). Suggested by Jean-François Buisson.

1995-05-24: v2.50.

Download oge-bin.rar (210K).

PaintPro — ANSI drawing application.

* * * *

[updated 2005-12-09]

ANSI drawing programs are most commonly used for creating archive comments and FILE_ID.DIZ files destined for BBSes. The home user could use this program to make logos or more colorful batch files. This program implements a standard mouse and menu driven, text mode interface and is very easy to use. An undocumented (?) feature is multiple undo support. An included program can convert ANSI files to executables which offer faster display. Nice sample drawings included. EXE size = 190K.

• Borland mouse and menu driven interface; runs in a DOS box.
• Drawing tools: points, line, rectangle, text, fill, delete.
• ASCII character selection pallette, 16 color pallette
• Cut, copy, paste, undo
• XY coordinate meter
• Full screen view option
• Can save drawings as ANSI or plain text files
• # of lines configurable (16-200)
• Online help

• Has the Borland Pascal 7 CRT bug – see fixes, like BP7PAT.
• Cannot load files from command line.
• No circle, polygon, or 3D effects.
• Start-up and exit splash screens must be closed by user.

Authors: Attila Kapostyak and Alin Merches, Romania (1997).

1997-08-31 release.

Download paintpro.zip (109K).

bCAD — Professional CAD program with 2D drafting and 3D modeling / rendering.

* * * * *

[added 2001-01-30, updated 2006-03-14]

bCAD is suited to middle size design, engineering and architectural projects. It presents a friendly, GeoWorks GUI interface with toolboxes and pop-up tool descriptions. Supports multiple video resolutions (640 x 480 x 16 colors, up to 1280 x 1024 x 16 million colors). Slick 3D modeling and rendering tools (try them on the sample files). Reads and exports a number of popular bitmapped formats. There is no external documentation but the program has an extensive internal help system (at the command line, enter bcad -h to see startup options). Keyboard or mouse operation. 32-bit EXE, requires 80386+, XMS memory and DOS extender (DPMI or VCPI).

Author: ProPro Group, Inc., Russia (1996). Suggested by Greg Head and others.

1996-09-22: v2.2.

Download bcad22.zip (1.6MB).

For more info, and free demos of commercial versions for Windows, go to the ProPro Group site, in three languages: Russian — English — Italian.

Also see Rob Coldwell's extended review of bCAD for DOS, with nice screenshots.

DESI-III — Professional 2D CAD system.

* * * * *

[added 2001-01-21, updated 2006-08-21]

This large, powerful program is especially suited to architectural work, but can be used for civil and mechanical engineering and other design projects. 256-colors, VESA-compatible. Requires at least 560K free conventional memory. Multi-language support: English, Dutch, French, German, Ukrainian. Includes complete, print-ready manual.

Author: Hugo Mariën, Belgium (1997-2004).

2004-05-23: v5.72.

Download DESI3572.EXE (945K).

For complete info and add-ons, go to the DESI-III Home Page, in English, Dutch, French, German, Ukrainian.

Find add-ons also at the DESI-III Download Page un-framed.

Information page un-framed.

POV-Ray (Persistence of Vision Raytracer) — Ray tracing application.

* * * * *

[updated 2004-11-30]

POV-Ray is a freeware ray tracing application and is the product of several years of continuous development by the POV-Ray team of independent programmers. POV-Ray represents a remarkable achievement in programming and is a professional application. With the release of Win 32s/Win9x versions of POV-Ray, the DOS version finally steps into the background because of the limitations of the DOS environment. If you're unfamiliar with ray tracing see POV-Ray: Documentation for a good introduction to ray tracing theory, sample images, and version histories. A whole industry of specialized supporting utilities has blossomed over the last few years – many are freeware.

Authors: POV-Team / povray.org (1999).

1999-05-13: v3.1g, last for DOS.

POVLAB — 3D graphics modeler, add-on for POV-Ray.

unrated

[added 2005-05-07 updated 2005-05-12]

This program adds three-dimensional object modeling to POV-Ray. Some of its features:

• 16/256-color SVGA/VESA graphics.
• Virtual memory, up to 32MB.
• 4 viewports (left, front, top and camera).
• Material & texture preview, library management, add your own.
• Real time camera.
• Lights: omni, spot, area light/spot, cylinder light (color, shadows, on/off, 3D view).
• Deformation (matrix scale, translate and rotate based).
• Selection (rotation, scale, translate, copy...)
• Normal/fast/boxed display, freezed and ignored objects.
• Raw objects: box, cone, cylinder, blob, disc, tube, torus, plane, sphere, lathe, bezier patches, spline, automap, extruder, superellipsoid...
• CSG (copy, merge, difference, union).
• Procedures: rotate and copy, translate and copy, align, extruder.
• Use a real camera, based on the FOV in POV-Ray.
• Mesh precision control for height-fields and torus.
• Up to 20000 objects.
• Correct raytracing parameters for textures: ior, refraction, ambient, phong, phong_size, diffuse, crand, reflection, image, bump map...
• Create 3D fonts.
• Image files viewer, best palette fitting (dithering, scaling and more).
• Automatic texture to interface palette converter with dithering.
• HSL and RGB color's dialog boxes.
• Output dir POV-Ray's scenes.
• Shell to your favorite viewer.
• Support rendering in WINPOV.
• Extended final render box.
• B-Spline path with CTDS like connections.
• Water_Level for HF.
• View the last rendering image in the modeller.
• View POV scene code.
• Smooth key vertices on the spline.
• 2 types of grid, snap.
• OS/2 setup files.

Requires minimum 80386, 80387 FPU, 4MB RAM, 30MB disk space, VGA, mouse, plain DOS (runs under Win3.x, but not in a Win9x DOS box). Better: 8MB RAM, 80486, VESA graphics.

Other: Package contains POV-Ray 3.0, DOS extender (DOS/4GW), manual (in plain text, Win Write and MS Word formats).

Author: Denis Olivier, France (1999). Suggested by Maxim Geller.

1998-08-29: v4.0.

Download povlab40.zip (2.8MB).

Go to the POVLAB Home Page for plugins and other support files, screenshots, forums and more.

Fractint — Fractal image generator.

* * * * *

[updated 2006-03-14]

Very complete fractal image generator and nicely documented. An older compilation has been ported to Windows 3.1. Also available for Linux.

Fractint runs on 16-bit CPUs and CGA video. It runs better with a floating point processor (80x87 FPU), and best with an 80386 CPU and 80387 FPU, or 80486+ CPU. Higher video adapters are supported, up to 32767 x 32767 x 256 resolution.

No doc file in package, but a complete manual (in plain text) can be generated from the program's help.

Authors: Fractint Development Team (2000-2005).

Get more info from the Fractint Development Team WWW pages, Main site, or Mirror site.

The Spanky Fractal Database has lots of good stuff.

Get v20.04.3 source code, version info and the Linux port at www.fractint.org/ftp/current/.

Get versions for other OSes, and more progs at the www.fractint.org/ftp/.

PhotoRec — Recover lost images from digital camera memory.

unrated

[added 2006-08-21]

PhotoRec is file data recovery software designed to recover lost pictures or lost files from digital camera memory (CompactFlash, Memory Stick, SecureDigital, SmartMedia, Microdrive, MMC, USB Memory Drives...), even Hard Disks and CDRom.

PhotoRec is safe to use, it will never attempt to write to the drive or memory support you are about to recover from. Recovered files are instead written in the directory from where you are running the PhotoRec program.

Photorec ignores the filesystem, this way it works even if the filesystem is severely damaged. It can recover lost files at least from FAT, NTFS, EXT2/EXT3 filesystem.

PhotoRec has been successfully tested with

• Canon EOS300D, 10D
• HP PhotoSmart 620, 850, 935
• Nikon CoolPix 775, 5700
• Olympus C350N, C860L, Mju 400 Digital, Stylus 300
• Sony DSC-P9
• Praktica DCZ-3.4
• Casio Exilim EX-Z 750

Other notes: Recognizes hundreds of archive, image, video and other file types. Runs under DOS 6.x, FreeDOS, Win9x box. 32-bit DJGPP build, requires 80386+ and a DOS Protected Mode Interface (provided by CWSDPMI [included] or the OS). Open Source under GNU Public License. Package also includes TestDisk.

Author: Christophe Grenier, France (2006).

Go to the PhotoRec page for more info. Get source code and compilations for Windows NT4/2K/XP/2K3, Linux, Unixes & Mac OS X at TestDisk Download.

CAMWORK — Download images from digital cameras.

unrated

[added 1998-07-20]

CamWork is a DOS program designed to extract pictures from the Agfa ePhoto and Olympus digital cameras. It has been tested successfully (as far as I know) with the Agfa 307, 1280, Epson 500, Epson 600, Olympus 200, Olympus 300 cameras...The program names images image01.jpg, image 02.jpg, etc. While the images are downloading the program displays session statistics, including elapsed time, time remaining, percent completed, images remaining, etc. Where possible, CamWork also displays the total number of pictures taken since the camera was created.

CamWork is now EMailWare -- If you like it, send me an E-Mail.

Command Line Options:
/d[drive:\path]                   specifies download destination
/p[1.2.3] or /p[1-9] or /pall     specifies pictures to download
/com[1],[2],[3],[4]               specifies com port to use
/s[9600],[19200],[38400],[57600]  sets communication speed
/e[1],[2]...[99]                  sets number of errors to ignore
/bw                               black and white display
/q                                turns off sound
/nb                               turns off battery check

Author: Max Lyons / TawbaWare (1998). Suggested by Dev Teelucksingh.

1998-02-22: v1.21.

Download CamWork.zip (46K).

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