microscreens

Those of us using Micro-Painter (DataSoft) for our computer art have been frustrated by the inability to transfer completed screens from Micro-Painter format to our BASIC (or other) programs. We need a utility for this.

I have designed one that will load a Micro-Painter file correctly to BASIC by building an ANTIC Mode E display list and using a machine-language loader routine (see listings).

Microloader works on any Micro-Painter file. Type the file- name and press [RETURN]. The screen goes black for four seconds while the ATARI builds the Mode E display list. Your disk drive then comes on and loads the screen, which takes eight seconds. If the colors aren't right, don't worry. Sometimes DOS has to collect its data from various parts of the disk, which produces false colors. These will be corrected when the load is complete.

Listing 1 is the main utility. I used two custom display lists; the first uses GR. 0, I and 2 for the title page. Lines 250-310 build the ANTIC Mode E display list. Listing 2 is a short version that can be listed to disk and used as a subroutine in a BASIC program. Listing 3 is source code for the machine-language loader routine, for those of you interested.

Listing 1: MICROLDR.BAS Download

Listing 2: MICROLDR.LST Download / View