Alright, let's see if I can explain the buttons.
In order to create grayscale sprites, two layers must be used. One layer will get displayed while the other layer is quickly XOR'd over the stationary layer . What you get is pixels that rapidly get turned on and off, generating a grayscale effect.
ALPHA:
When you open the editor, by default the active layer is the layer that will remain stationary, not XOR'd. To switch to the other layer (the XOR'd layer) simply press ALPHA.
MODE: (Before you read this section, keep in mind that DEL will do the process for you. You'll see what I mean.)
When creating grayscale sprites, it is necessary to design the layers in such a way that the XOR'd layer will not cause the rendered sprite to flicker. In order to do this, there should be an alternating pattern of off/on pixels (a checkered pattern) in the stationary layer in relation to the XOR'd layer. (Now I know this doesn't make any sense, but maybe I'll create a picture tutorial to explain better.) Anyways, pressing MODE simply merges the two layers together into one view so that you can see how the two layers will effect each other. Pressing MODE does not modify the layer in any way, it is only a tool to make creating grayscale easier.
DEL:
So now that you know what you have to do in order to create grayscale, wouldn't it be nice if the editor could do the checkered pattern work for you? This what DEL is for. Simply turn the pixels on in the XOR'd layer that you want to appear gray in the rendered sprite. Press DEL, and the editor will do the rest. What actually happens is the editor will AND a checkered pattern to a third matrix based on the XOR'd layer, which in turn will be OR'd to the stationary layer. Whew!
This simply creates a checkered pattern on the stationary layer in relation to wherever pixels were turned on in the XOR'd layer.
Now try this for practice:
1. Start Implicit
2. Open the Sprite module
3. Press F2 to switch to "gray" mode
4. Press F3 to switch to "16x16" mode
5. Select "new" from the menu
6. Press ALPHA to switch to the XOR'd layer
7. Press F4 to fill the active layer
8. Press DEL to create the grayscale checkered pattern
9. Press ENTER to return back to the module menu
10. Press F1 to render the grayscale sprite.
What you should end up with is a 'perfect' grayscale sprite, meaning the sprite shouldn't have any noticeable flicker to it (quite an achievement in Basic I might add
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So that's the basics of the buttons. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask.
As for the sprite getting pasted immediately, that's just because I'm using xLIB for keypress recognition, and it doesn't clear the read like getKey would. I'll add a getKey just before the paste code and that should fix the problem. Thanks for notifiying me of this and also thank you for the compliments, it's knowing that people find my programs useful that keeps me going
I am a bit confused on the error message you mentioned. Is this in the picture editor? I do have a "Save Changes?" dialog that appears when in the picture editor.
