                           TAnimated Component

                    Copyright 1995 by L. David Baldwin
                           All rights reserved
              See end of this document for more information


The TAnimated Component is a visual component for use with Borland's Delphi.
It allows the easy programing of simple animations such as exploding text,
books being paged through, etc.  Animations are drawn as bitmaps consisting
of two or more frames arranged in filmstrip form.

A demo program, ANIMDEMO.EXE, will give you a feel for the types of
animations which can be accomplished.  Please keep in mind when viewing the
demo that my artistic abilities are quite limited.


                               IMPORTANT

The source code for ANIMDEMO is included.  You can run the demo, ANIMDEMO.EXE,
but you CAN'T successfully load the source into Delphi until you install
the TAnimated component.  If you do load it (pressing the 'Ignore All'
button), be careful not to save the resulting files as they will have many
essentials stripped from them.


FILES SUPPLIED

   README        This one
   ANIMDEMO.EXE  The demo file
   EXPLODE.WAV   Sound effects for demo

   INSTSTUF.ZIP  Zipped file containing the files req'd for installing the
                 TAnimated component, consisting of:

    ANIMATE.PAS  Source code
    ANIMATE.HLP  Help file
    ANIMATE.KWF  Keyword file to link ANIMATE.HLP to the Delphi help system.
    ANIMATE.DCR  Button bitmap for TAnimated on the Delphi component palette.

   DEMOSRC.ZIP   Zipped file containing the source for ANIMDEMO consisting of:

    ANIMDEMO.DCR Project file
    ANIMDEMO.RES Resource file (icon)
    ANIUNIT.PAS  Unit file
    ANIUNIT.DFM  Form file

   BITMAPS.ZIP   The various filmstrip bitmaps for the demo.  You don't need
                 these to compile the demo but may want to look at them
                 as filmstrip samples.


INSTALLING THE TAnimated Component

  Installing new components in the library is covered starting on page 68 of
  the User's manual.  Here's some extra comments and suggestions.

  1. The Register procedure in ANIMATE.PAS is setup to place TAnimated on
     a palette page tab named 'MyStuff'.  You can change the location after
     installation but you may prefer to edit the Register procedure to place
     it on a different page when it's installed.

  2. Backup COMPLIB.DCL or start a new library file.

  3. Pick a directory for the TAnimated component.  You'll probably be adding
     other components.  I think it's a good idea to have one or two
     directories to hold the non-Borland components.  It's probably not a
     good idea to assign each component a directory of its own. Put
     ANIMATE.PAS and ANIMATE.DCR in the chosen directory.

  4. From the Delphi IDE, choose Options|Install Components.  In the dialog,
     choose the Add... button.  In the Add Module dialog that then comes up,
     the simplest approach is to use the Browse button to find ANIMATE.PAS.
     Hit OK then and the Search Path edit box will have the correct path
     added and TAnimated will have been added to the installed units listbox.
     (You may have to scroll down to see it.)

  5. Hit OK on the Install Components dialog and the necessary steps will be
     taken to do the installation.  The TAnimated button will appear on
     the chosen component page tab.


INSTALLING THE HELP FILE

  The file ANIMATE.HLP will supply context sensitive help for the TAnimated
  component.  It also discusses how to contruct the filmstrip bitmaps.
  Installation of component help files is discussed in the Component Writer's
  Guide on page 80.

  1. Place the ANIMATE.KWF file in the DELPHI\HELP directory with the other
     .KWF files.

  2. Close the Delphi IDE.

  3. Run Delphi's HELPINST.  Choose File|Open to open DELPHI.HDX in the
     DELPHI\BIN directory.

  4. Choose Keywords|Add Keyword File to add the ANIMATE.KWF file to the list
     of .KWF files.

  5. Choose File|Save or hit the blue disk button to compile and save the
     revised .HDX file.

  6. Now it remains to set things up so that WINHELP can find the help file
     ANIMATE.HLP.  There are several choices:

     a. Put ANIMATE.HLP in the DELPHI\BIN directory with the other help files.
     b. Put ANIMATE.HLP somewhere on the your path.
     c. Modify WINHELP.INI to add a directory entry for ANIMATE.HLP.

The ANIMATE.HLP file contains documentation for how to use the TAmimated
component and how to construct the filmstrip bitmaps.  To access the help,
open the help file from Delphi, press the Search All button and search for
'TAnimated'.  Or place a TAnimated component on your form and press F1.


FURTHER COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

There is no charge for the use of the TAnimated component.  However, if
you come up with some good animations, I'd enjoy seeing them.

This package may be copied and distributed freely providing that it is not
modified, no fee is charged, and it is not made part of a package for which
a charge is made.  If you upload this package to other bulletin boards, I'd
appreciate it if you would try to keep the upload current.

Please report all bugs, suggestions, and problems to:

       Dave Baldwin,

       CompuServe ID: 76327,53.

       22 Fox Den Rd., (Summer)
       Hollis, NH 03049
       (603) 465-7857


       144 13th St. East,  (Winter)
       Tierra Verde, FL 33715
       (813) 867-3030
