SBJV: Jpeg Image Viewer

(C) Scott M Baker

Purpose:

The purpose of this program is to display jpeg, bmp, tga (and possibly other) image files on your computer screen. Several special features are included, such as a slideshow mode, ability to stretch images to fit full screen, and a visual picture index.

This program is designed to be a companion to SBNews/Newsbot, my nntp download & decode program, although SBNews is not necessary for operation of SBJV.

Requirements:

Distribution:

Features:

Files Included:

Installing and Using the Program:

Here are some very quick notes on installing and using SBJV:

Installation:

  1. Unzip the distribution archive into the directory of your choice.

Running:

  1. Run JVIEW.EXE -- this can be done in various ways - from the Win-95 command prompt, the Windows Explorer (and/or file manager), the Windows Run Program command, etc.
  2. Along the right hand side will be a directory and file listing. You may double-click entries in the directory listing to change working directories, or double click filenames in the file list to view an image
  3. The "Index" button may be used to open up the visual index.

Visual Index Mode

The visual index mode may be accessed by pushing the Index button while you are in a directory containing pictures. When activated, it will display a grid of thumbnail images, which are generated automatically by SBJV based on the images in the current directory.

Double clicking on any image will cause the large viewer to display the image.

One-Click Categorization

SBJV was designed to allow easy one-click categorization of images. To use the categorization features, do the following:

  1. Under the "Options" pull-down menu, select "Display Categorization Pane". This will enable a vertical panel along the right side of the screen.
  2. On the categorization panel, use the "Add/Edit" button to add new categories to the list. For each category, type in the category name and the physical directory location.
  3. Once you have finished setting up your categories, you may click on any category to automatically move the current image to that location.

Command Line Parameters

-i INI_FILE_NAME Sets the name of the INI file to use. By default, SBJVuses the file newsbot.ini in your windows directory. Specifying a filename here will cause sbjv to use the file under that name in sbjv's home directory. For example "JView -i jview1.ini" would use the filename "jview1.ini" in sbjv's home directory.
-noabout Omits display of the about dialog on startup of SBJV. Note: Only supported in registered version!
<filename> You can also place a single filename on the command line to cause jview to load that filename. For example, "jview c:\myfile.jpg" would load and display the file c:\myfile.jpg. Put the filename after any other commane line options!
-max Maximize main window
-index Display index window
-hidefilepane Hide the categorization pane
-hidecatpane Hide the file/directory pane
-hidemenu Hide the menu bar
-pos <x>,<y> Set window position. For example, "jview -pos 100,100"
-size <w>,<h> Set window size. For example, "jview -size 100,100"
-close <filename> Look for any other SBJV windows displaying <filename>, and close them. Intended to be used with -exit. See the "opening and closing SBJV example" below for details
-exit Exit SBJV without displaying an image. Used in combination with out options, like -close
-stretch Set color mode to stretch
-fullsize Set color mode to fullsize

Notes:

Microsoft foolishly decided to name their jpeg loader program "jview.exe", just like I named SBJV "jview.exe". I should stress that I had the name first, not them... :) Anyhow, this results in some confusion for command line users, as if you put SBJV's directory in your PATH, you might still end up getting the microsoft thing when you try to run "jview.exe". This can be solved by using an absolute path, for example: "c:\program files\SBJV\jview.exe".

Opening and Closing SBJV Example:

SBJV is designed so that it can be operated from a user application, batch file, or the command line. This allows you to use SBJV from your own application to display images. Here is an example:

To display the file test.jpg on the screen at coordinates 100,100:

jview -pos 100,100 -hidefilepane -hidecatpane -hidemenu test.jpg

To cause the above window to be closed:

jview -close test.jpg -exit

Catalog Generation

What are they?

SBJV includes a catalog image generator. Catalog images are images that contain a collection of thumbnails. They are useful in case you wish to distribute a summary of your collection of images to another user. For example, catalogs are used widely in binary picture newsgroup to give an overview of a selection of pictures before they are uploaded.

How do you generate them?

The option to generate catalogs is located under the File menu in the main window of SBJV. First go into the directory you wish to generate the catalogs from. Then, select "Generate Catalogs" from the file menu. You will be presented with a rather complex dialog box of options. Most of these are already set to the default values and need not be altered. Click on "Ok". Your catalogs will be placed in your SBJV/SBNews directory (unless you have specified otherwise).

What are all those complicated options?

There are several options that control the output of the catalogs. Most are set to defaults and need not be modified. Here is a descriptive listing:

There is also a button called "Annotate" which will let you configure a header (text across the top of a page) and a footer (text across the bottom of a page) to be added to the catalogs. This is a good place to put a title or copyright information.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following people for their help, support, or contributions to SBNews/Newsbot and SBJV:

Registration

SBJV is a shareware program and as such, you are only granted the right to operate it for a limited time to evaluate it's performance. Continued usage requires registration in the amount of $29.95.

For information on registration, please see REGISTER.DOC (or REGISTER.HTM).

Contacting Me

US-Mail: 

Scott M. Baker

2241 W Labriego
Tucson, Az 85741
United States of America

Email: 

smbaker@sb-software.com

My Homepage: 

http://www.sb-software.com/

Find the latest SBNews/Newsbot at this address:

http://www.newsrobot.com/sbnews/sbnews.html

Find the latest SBJV at this address:

http://www.sb-software.com/sbjv/sbjv.html

Revision History