Introduction

Welcome to Gryphon BricksΤΜ,  the program that uses plastic building bricks imagery to let children of all ages create models of whatever they can imagine. The bricks and work space simulate three dimensions for a realistic appearance. Each model you create can be saved for reworking later, and you'll never run out of parts.

Building with Gryphon Bricks is simple: just choose the desired brick shape, select a color, position the brick in the work space, and click to place it. You can move bricks in three dimensions, change their colors, or remove them at any time.

Two versions of the program are provided: a Kids version for younger children (ages 5 to 10) and an Adult version with some advanced features for older brick enthusiasts. Both versions can be installed on the same computer, and documents created in one version can be opened in the other.

Further, Gryphon Bricks is available for both the Macintosh® and Windows® operating systems. Documents or files created on either system can be opened on the other.


System Requirements

Any '386-based (or later) IBM® PC or compatible, with a VGA monitor (256 colors minimum), a CD-ROM drive, Microsoft® mouse (or compatible pointing device), a hard disk and four megabytes of RAM, running Windows 3.1 (or later). A sound card is recommended.


Checklist
Checklist of Contents

In your Gryphon Bricks package, you should have:

  The Gryphon Bricks users booklet.

   The Gryphon Bricks CD-ROM.

  A Registration/Warranty Card.

Contact us if any of these materials are missing, or if you require 3.5-inch diskettes. Our address and telephone number are printed on the inside front cover of the Bricks booklet.

Registration

Please take a moment to fill in the Registration Card and mail it to us. Be sure to copy the serial number printed on the registration card onto the front cover of this booklet, so you will have it at hand if you need it.

As a registered owner, we will keep you informed of upgrades to Gryphon Bricks, new sets of bricks, and other upcoming products. You also will have access to Gryphon's Customer Support Hotline. Remember, we cannot send you this information if we don't know how to reach you.


Installing Gryphon Bricks

You can run Gryphon Bricks directly from the CD-ROM, but you will not be able to add or remove brick kits, and the documents you create will have to be saved on your hard drive. On the other hand, your child(ren) will not be able to inadvertently alter the program.

Windows:

If Windows is not running, launch it.

Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0

To run Gryphon Bricks, or to copy it onto your hard drive, simply place the CD into your computer's CD-ROM drive and follow the on-screen instructions.

Windows 3.1 or Windows NT 3.51

1.	Insert the CD into your computer's CD-ROM drive.

2. 	Choose the Run command from the Program Managers File menu.

3. 	In the Run dialog box, type d:\bricks.exe (if your CD-ROM drive is assigned a drive letter other than d, type the appropriate letter) and click OK.

If you wish to install Gryphon Bricks on your hard disk, highlight the Gryphon Bricks directory folder in the File Manager or Explorer window, and choose Copy from the File menu. In the Copy dialog box, enter the directory on your hard drive to which the program is to be copied.


About Bricks Help

This Windows Help file is intended to be used as a reference for Gryphon Bricks. We assume you and your child(ren) are familiar with basic computer usage--particularly pointing and clicking--and here we make no attempt to guide you in these areas.

Command names are shown in boldface, while options and labels found in dialog boxes are italicized.

Note to Windows users: The term folder is synonymous with directory.


Kids Version

When your child starts the Kids version of the program, a sign-on screen appears. The child can type his or her name, or highlight a previously saved name in the scrolling list, and then click the Check button to proceed. File names and the storage location for images created during this session are determined by this sign-on name. Each time a new child signs on, a new folder with that name is created in the User folder in the Bricks folder. To let another child sign on, have the current user quit the program. When the program is restarted, the sign-on screen appears again.

The Kids version is characterized by large buttons and simplified interactions. No menu bar is visible; all functions are performed directly from the document window. The Tools, Colors, Actions, and Bricks palettes are arranged around the edges of the window, enclosing a work space; the palettes are fixed and cannot be moved.

Sounds are attached to most actions; for example, scrolling through the Bricks palette elicits the sound of jumbled bricks. Sound can be turned off and on in the Preferences dialog box.


Tools (Kids Version)

All tools remain selected until the child specifically chooses another tool. To select a tool, click its symbol on the Tools palette. The tools symbol becomes green (the same color as the baseplate) to indicate which tool is selected.

Hand -- This is a selection tool. Click a single placed brick to select it for rotation or nudging; drag a selection rectangle enclosing a group of bricks to select all of them. Shift-click to select and deselect individual bricks. Drag the selected bricks to a new location, or click the arrow buttons on the Action palette to move or rotate them (the arrow keys on the keyboard also can be used). Click anywhere in the work space to deselect the selected bricks.

Paint Bucket -- Click any brick with the Paint Bucket to repaint it with the color currently selected on the Colors palette. The brick does not have to be selected first. To change the currently selected color, click the desired color button on the Colors palette.

Brick Tool -- Used to place new bricks; click anywhere in the work space to place a new brick of the currently selected type. An outline of the brick moves with the mouse pointer, jumping into alignment with the nearest stud on the baseplate or another brick; if you don't see the outline, the brick is in an illegal position. When the mouse button is pressed, a shadow of the base of the brick is displayed to aid in positioning it. The brick is placed when the mouse button is released. To select a different brick type, click the desired shape on the scrolling Bricks palette.

When a new brick is placed, it is positioned as low as possible in the work area; that is, flush with the baseplate or the top of another brick. Use the up arrow on the Actions palette to raise the selected brick(s) vertically. Note that when you drag bricks, their shadows move on the baseplate, regardless of their height in the work space.

Eraser -- Used to delete bricks from the work area--select the tool and click any brick. To remove a number of bricks at once, use the Hand to drag a selection rectangle around the bricks, and then press the delete or backspace key on the keyboard.

Colors

Twelve color choices are available on the Colors palette. The currently selected color is indicated by a black outline around the appropriate color button. This color is used for new bricks and the Paint Bucket until another color selection is made.

Bricks

The Bricks palette displays available brick shapes in a single column on the right side of the screen. Use the scroll buttons at the top and bottom of the palette to scroll the column. Scrolling is not continuous; that is, the child must click a button each time she or he wants to see a new "page" of bricks. Also, the palette represents a column, not a loop. To add bricks to or remove them from this palette, drag the appropriate kit into or out of the Kits folder.

Actions

The action buttons at the lower left and across the bottom of the window provide a basic set of program operations, and allow nudging and rotation of the selected brick(s).

Arrows

The arrow buttons across the bottom of the window provide brick rotation and movement in three dimensions. Each straight-arrow button moves the selected bricks in the indicated direction; distance moved is one row of studs along the x or y axis, and the equivalent distance up or down along the z axis.

The circular-arrow buttons rotate a selected brick in the indicated direction around its vertical centerline. If more than one brick is selected, they are rotated as if enclosed in a bounding box that is rotated about its center.

The arrow keys available on most keyboards duplicate the actions of the arrow buttons. The left-arrow key nudges the selected bricks one row backward along the x axis; the right-arrow key nudges them one row forward along the x axis. The up- or down-arrow key moves the bricks one row up or down the y axis. Press Shift-up arrow to raise the selected bricks vertically (i.e., upward on the z axis); use Shift-down arrow to lower the bricks. Shift-left arrow rotates the bricks counterclockwise, while Shift-right arrow rotates them clockwise.

New

The New button closes the current document and opens a brand new document.

Open

The Open button displays an Open dialog box in which the child can select and open a previously saved document. The dialog box displays thumbnails of the documents in the portfolio folder of the child presently signed on. Select the document to be opened by clicking its thumbnail; the selected thumbnail is surrounded by a black-and-white frame. Click the Check button (or press the Return key) to open the selected document. Or simply double-click the thumbnail.

Only one document can be open at a time. If another document is opened, the current document is saved and closed.

Optionally, this dialog box can include a Trash Can button which the child can use to delete documents (refer to the description of the KidBricks Preferences dialog box for information about showing and hiding the button). If the Trash Can is available, a document can be deleted by selecting its thumbnail and then clicking the Trash Can.

Save

Your child can click the Save button at any time to save the picture in its current state; the picture is not closed. The document is automatically named and saved, with a thumbnail, in the childs own folder, which was created when he or she signed in. The current document also is saved whenever the Open or Quit buttons are clicked.

Note to Windows users: The names assigned to individual folders in the Users directory do not correspond to actual user names.

Quit

Clicking the Quit button terminates the program.

Print

The Print button, displaying a printer symbol, lets the child print her or his creation; a standard Print dialog box appears. If you choose, this Print button can be removed from the Actions palette; refer to the description of the KidBricks Preferences dialog box for more information.

Undo

Click the Undo button to undo the most recent action in the work spacebrick movement, color change, and so on.

Background

The Background button, displaying a symbol of the green baseplate, opens a dialog box which displays thumbnails of available background images; eight are supplied with the Kids version. Several solid-color background options also are displayed in the dialog box. Select the desired background color or image and close the dialog box.

You can add to the available backgrounds by placing BMP images in the Backgrounds folder. Refer to the description of the Background command in the Options Menu section of this manual for additional information about these background image files.

Preferences

Sounds accompany most KidBricks operations. The options in the Preferences dialog box let you turn off and on these sounds, as well as display of the Trash Can in the Open dialog box and display of the Print button in the Actions palette. To open the Preferences dialog box, choose the Preferences command from the File menu--the application menu bar is visible while the Control key on the keyboard is pressed.


Adult Version

The Adult version of Gryphon Bricks provides a more traditional interface with smaller buttons and floating palettes. The four tools available in the Kids version are available in the Adult version. There is no sign-in screen, nor does the program automatically save documents to special folders. All tools, colors and action buttons are grouped on one main palette, along with the available brick shapes.

In the Adult version, document windows are scrollable and resizable, and you can have more than one document open at a time. One or more selected bricks can be copied to another document using drag and drop by Control-dragging them from one window to another.


Tools (Adult Version)

The tools in the Adult version are virtually identical to those in the Kids version. The Hand is replaced by a selection Arrow. A hidden Eyedropper tool is available: Shift-Control-click any placed brick to make its color and shape the current selections on the Bricks and Colors palettes.

Keyboard shortcuts for switching between tools are:

Arrow (or Hand)  press A on the keyboard.

Paint Bucket  press P.

Brick tool  press B.

Eraser Tool  press E.

If the Arrow tool is selected, pressing the Tab key switches to the Brick tool; if any other tool is selected, pressing the Tab key switches to the Arrow. This is useful for quickly switching back and forth between the Bricks tool and the Arrow.

Colors

The color pad, below the tool buttons on the main palette, contains twelve color blocks. The currently selected color is displayed as the background around these blocks. To change the current color, click the appropriate color block. To change the color of all selected bricks, Control-click the appropriate color block.

Arrows

The arrow buttons spread across the bottom of the work space in the Kids version are grouped on the main palette in the Adult version. To nudge or rotate the selected bricks, click the appropriate key on the arrow pad. You can also rotate using the arrow keys on your keyboard by holding down the shift key while clicking the desired arrow.

Bricks

The Bricks portion of the main palette is scrollable and resizable. Each installed kit, or group of shapes, is displayed on the palette by title. To view the actual shapes in a particular group, click the arrow preceding the title to expand the group. To collapse the group, click the arrow again.

You also can "tear off" a separate palette for each group by dragging from its title on the main palette; these palettes can be positioned anywhere on the screen.

Like the Kids version, brick groups can be added to or removed from the main palette by adding or removing brick-kit documents in the Kits folder inside the Gryphon Bricks folder.


Menus
Menus (Adult Version)

The menu bar in the Adult version is always visible, and includes a number of features not found in the Kids version, chiefly the Scripts menu.

Click the menu item below to see Help for that menu.

File Menu

Edit Menu

Options Menu

View Menu

Window Menu

Scripts Menu


File Menu

New -- Opens a new document.

Open -- Displays a standard Open dialog box used to locate and open a previously created Gryphon Bricks document.

Close -- Closes the active document; you are asked if unsaved changes are to be saved.

Save -- Saves changes to the active document without closing it.

Save As -- Displays a standard Save dialog box to let you save the active document under another name or in another location.

Print -- Opens a submenu containing these options: Image, Parts List and Instructions. Each command displays a standard Print dialog box. The Print Image command prints the contents of the work space (isometric view), as displayed on screen. The Print Parts List command prints a list of the types of bricks, and quantities of each, used to create the model in the active document. This list is ordered by part type, with a break-down by color. Print Instructions prints a series of images, each of which displays one layer of the current model. That is, the first image presents only the bricks in the bottom layer of the model; the next image presents the second layer, and so on.

Print Preview -- Opens the Print Preview window in which you can view the active document as it will be printed.

Print Setup -- Displays a standard Print Setup dialog box in which printer options are set.

Quit/Exit -- Ends the program; you are asked if unsaved changes to open documents are to be saved.


Edit Menu

Undo/Redo -- Undoes most recent action in the active document (e.g., brick movement, color change, etc.). When an action is undone, the command becomes Redo, which redoes the undone action.

Cut -- Removes the selected objects from the document, placing them on the Clipboard.

Copy -- Copies the selected objects to the Clipboard.

Paste -- Pastes objects on the Clipboard into the active document.

Clear -- Removes the selected objects from the document.

Select All -- Selects all objects in the document.

Select None -- Deselects all selected objects in the document. Pressing the Esc key on the keyboard produces the same result.

Duplicate -- Creates duplicates of the selected objects; these are slightly offset from the originals. Note that the duplicates are selected, and the originals deselected, so the duplicates can be moved immediately, even if they are inside other bricks or not visible. Use the Arrow keys to relocate them.


Options Menu

Show Part Numbers -- Each brick shape has a unique part reference number. If this command is checked, these numbers are displayed with each shape in expanded groups on the main palette, and on torn-off group palettes.

Show Baseplate -- If this command is checked, the green baseplate is displayed in the work space.

Show Multiview -- If this command is checked, the document window is divided such that a column of three smaller windows is displayed along the right side of the screen. Each of the smaller windows displays a different view of the 3-D work space.

From top to bottom, these smaller windows display the plan view (looking from directly above the model), the view of the left front side, and the view of the right front side of the model.

Background -- Displays a dialog box that lets you change the background of the Gryphon Bricks work space (default is solid black). You can load a BMP image, or you can use the system color picker to select another solid color.

To load a background image, click the Load button in the dialog box; a standard Open dialog box is displayed. Locate and open the BMP image. This must be an 8-bit image that utilizes standard system colors.

The upper left corner of the loaded image is positioned in the upper left corner of the Gryphon Bricks work space. Depending on the size of the image and the current size of the document window, there may be strips of the background color visible below and to the right of the loaded image. If Tile Image is checked, the image is repeated so the work space is completely filled; that is, there will be no strips of background color. Note however, that this option should be used only with small images; otherwise screen redraw may be slowed dramatically.

To change the current work-space color, click the Background Color button; the system color picker is displayed.

Group -- Designates two or more selected objects as a single entity; this entity is then selected, moved and rotated as one object.

Ungroup -- Dissolves the selected group or groups into their individual components.


View Menu (Windows Only)

View Menu

Toolbar -- Hide or show the application toolbar; the command is checked if the palette is visible.

Status Bar -- Hide or show the informative display at the bottom of the document window; the command is checked if the status bar is displayed.


Window Menu (Windows Only)

Window Menu

New Window -- Another window is opened to display the active document; any action taken in one is repeated in the other, since the document itself is not duplicated.

Cascade --Open windows are made the same size and arranged such that the title bar and left edge of each are visible--the windows appear to step down the monitor screen.

Tile -- Open windows are sized and arranged such that all are visible on the monitor screen.

Arrange Icons -- Iconified windows are neatly aligned.

Open windows list -- All currently open document windows are listed here; choose a name to make that window active.


Scripts Menu

Other Scripts -- Displays a standard Open dialog box that you can use to locate and open a script not currently residing in the Scripts folder, and thus not available in the Scripts menu.

Script List -- All script documents found in the Scripts folder, inside the Gryphon Bricks folder, are listed in the Scripts menu. Script documents found in folders within the Scripts folder are displayed as submenus.


Animation

Model scripting can be accomplished via Windows' OLE Automation. Script creation and use of this feature is beyond the scope of this manual. A number of excellent books on OLE Automation are available from third-party sources.