IView Overview

John Hanna
last edited 2/16/03
T³ - Teachers Teaching with Technology

Visit my Talk TI Software page to download the new stuff made with the help of the Talk-TI SDK : image editors (83IVIEW, 89IVIEW, and V2IVIEW), screen captures (Grab83 and Grab89), and link software (Quik-Link 80). These programs use the TI dll's for linking that are installed with TI Connect.

Introduction

I wrote the IVIEW programs (Image VIEWers) for Windows for the TI-82/3/73/83PLUS, TI-85/6, TI-92/92+ and TI-89 calculators. There are three programs available: 83IVIEW.EXE, V2IVIEW.EXE, and 89IVIEW.EXE. These programs allow you to open, edit (draw), save, and print 83I, 8XI (83+), 85I, 86I, 92I, 73I, 9XI (92+), and 89I 'Image' files. These files store PICture files from your calculator on the PC using TI's Graph-Link software an d cable. And... these programs can 'import' images from other formats: GIF, JPG, BMP, ICO, RLE, and WMF.

Background

Texas Instruments' TI-Graph-Link and TI Connect software allow you to transfer calculator files between the calculator and your computer using Link cables (Serial black and gray, and the Silver USB). One of the file types is 'PIC' (picture) in the calculator. In the 73, 82, 83, and 83+, these are the files PIC1 through PIC0 (PIC6 on the 82, Pic3 on the 73). On the 85, 86, 92, 92+, and 89 you can name your pictures any legal name, but they are still PICTURE files. When you send these PIC files to the computer using TI-Graph-Link or TI Connect (note: this is different than a 'screenshot'), they are saved in a file with the extension *.??I (for 'Image', because *.??P is used for 'Program'). Unfortunately, there was no way of viewing these files on the computer. That's where the IVIEWs come in: there are different programs for each calculator type because each type of calculator uses a different screen resolution, communication protocol, and image file format.

Use 83IVIEW to work with the TI-83, TI-83Plus, TI-83Plus Silver Edition, and TI-73.

Use 89IVIEW to work with the TI-89.

Use V2IVIEW to work with Voyage200, TI-92, and TI-92Plus.

All the IVIEWs now have built-in linking capability, including "screen capture" and "send to calculator" buttons, so there's no need to switch to TI-Graph Link or TI-Connect.

You may need additional files, like msvbvm60.dll and other dll's or ocx files (see the complete installations on the Talk TI Software page). You can get these files from Microsoft's Website. But if you've ever installed an IVIEW program, then you probably already have all the support files you need and these download quickly (130k - 180k each). 89IVIEW and 92IVIEW are on the back burner. Waiting for TalkTI documentation to upgrade these programs.

How to 'import' pictures into the IVIEW programs.

Prepare a file for importing using any paint program. Preferably, convert the image to black and white, though this is not necessary, but only black, RGB(0,0,0), pixels will be displayed. All other colors will be treated as white. The image should be the size of the calculator screen that you are using (82/3/73: 96x63, V200, 92, 92+: 240x103, 89: 160x77) but this is not necessary, either. In the IVIEW program, select File/Import. Find the GIF, JPG, BMP, ICO, WMF, or RLE file that you want. The image appears in the upper left corner of the program window. Select YES to process the image. Importing merges the imported pixels with the existing image, as RclPic does on the calculators. Pictures that are smaller than screen size will be centered on the screen. Larger pictures will be clipped.

This is a copy of a *.WMF clipart file

After resizing the original to 96x64, this TI-83 anchor was imported from the clipart shown above.

Copyright Notice: All programs are copyrighted to protect against sale for profit. The programs are distributed freely and may not be sold separately or in combination with any other products.

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