hey how do i display xbin images with synchronet.
do i use xbimage.js ?
Re: xbin
By: MRO to digitalman on Mon Mar 07 2022 12:33 pm
hey how do i display xbin images with synchronet.
do i use xbimage.js ?
Yeah, it's documented here: https://wiki.synchro.net/module:xbimage
Let me know if you have questions.
--
digital man (rob)
Re: xbin
By: Digital Man to MRO on Mon Mar 07 2022 11:01 am
Re: xbin
By: MRO to digitalman on Mon Mar 07 2022 12:33 pm
hey how do i display xbin images with synchronet.
do i use xbimage.js ?
Yeah, it's documented here: https://wiki.synchro.net/module:xbimage
Let me know if you have questions.
--
digital man (rob)
well i did a trump bitmap and it didnt turn out so well. https://i.imgur.com/tOgvBVM.png
now i made sure i decreased the color.
do i need to specify the dimensions?
i'm just doing the show command and i
renamed it to trump.xb
now it turned out purple barf instead of green barf.
well i did a trump bitmap and it didnt turn out so well. https://i.imgur.com/tOgvBVM.png
now i made sure i decreased the color.
Decreased... to one? Only monochrome bitmaps are supported.
i'm just doing the show command and i
renamed it to trump.xb
now it turned out purple barf instead of green barf.
Renamed what?
Perhaps closely watch the status/errors reported when using "xbimage create". --
digital man (rob)
Re: xbin
By: Digital Man to MRO on Mon Mar 07 2022 01:20 pm
well i did a trump bitmap and it didnt turn out so well. https://i.imgur.com/tOgvBVM.png
now i made sure i decreased the color.
Decreased... to one? Only monochrome bitmaps are supported.
okay that's probably it. i did two colors. i dont think my editor did monocrome.
i'm just doing the show command and i
renamed it to trump.xb
now it turned out purple barf instead of green barf.
Renamed what?
it creates multiple output files so i renamed one to make it simple.
Perhaps closely watch the status/errors reported when using "xbimage create". --
it didnt do any errors
---- end ------
okay i used windows paint and saved as monocrome.
it didnt turn out great. probably because of the white bg https://i.imgur.com/oBJJopW.png
i know years ago deuce was working on displaying image files like jpgs but they were in a separate window. it would be nice if syncterm could display a png in the client the way it can display these xb files.
i think that would be a big game changer for the client.
not sure if that's possible though without a big rewrite.
looks like this format requires a lot of image tweaking and has a lot of limitations. that's probably why it wasnt widely used.
okay i used windows paint and saved as monocrome.
i know years ago deuce was working on displaying image files like jpgs but they were in a separate window. it would be nice if syncterm could display a png in the client the way it can display these xb files.
looks like this format requires a lot of image tweaking and has a lot of limitations. that's probably why it wasnt widely used.
it didnt turn out great. probably because of the white bg https://i.imgur.com/oBJJopW.png
I think you need to start with a better image.
It's call Sixel, it displays in the same window.
i think that would be a big game changer for the client.
It's been there for several years now. Check dura-bbs.net:6359 if you want to see some cool stuff being done with both SyncTERM fonts and Sixel from an Apple ][.
looks like this format requires a lot of image tweaking and has a lot of limitations. that's probably why it wasnt widely used.
XBin images are compatible with SyncTERM 1.0. That's it's main feature. <shrug> --
i know years ago deuce was working on displaying image files like jpgs but they were in a separate window. it would be nice if syncterm could display a png in the client the way it can display these xb files.
It's call Sixel, it displays in the same window.
Re: xbin
By: MRO to Digital Man on Mon Mar 07 2022 21:28:46
okay i used windows paint and saved as monocrome.
i know years ago deuce was working on displaying image files like
jpgs
but they were in a separate window. it would be nice if syncterm could display a png in the client the way it can display these xb files.
looks like this format requires a lot of image tweaking and has a
lot
of limitations. that's probably why it wasnt widely used.
He added support for sixel around the same time. I don't remember the limitations of the format, but you get colours and decent looking images. Should be possible to find conversion utilities online.
I think there's a demo of it on my BBS immediately upon connection if
you're
using a high enough SyncTERM version. (An image will show up before the login menu appears.)
The display function I'm using is like this, where 'fn' is a string, path
to
a sixel file:
load('cterm_lib.js');
function show_sixel(fn) {
if (console.cterm_version >= 1189) {
var image = new File(fn);
if (image.exists) {
if (image.open("rb", true)) {
var readlen = console.output_buffer_level + console.output_buffer_space;
readlen /= 2;
would be great if we could use .png files in our bbses but it's probably not possible. that's too bad.
Re: xbin
By: echicken to MRO on Tue Mar 08 2022 05:04 am
> Re: xbin
> By: MRO to Digital Man on Mon Mar 07 2022 21:28:46
>
> MR> okay i used windows paint and saved as monocrome.
>
> MR> i know years ago deuce was working on displaying image files like
>
> function show_sixel(fn) {
> if (console.cterm_version >= 1189) {
> var image = new File(fn);
> if (image.exists) {
> if (image.open("rb", true)) {
> var readlen = console.output_buffer_level + console.output_buffer_space;
> readlen /= 2;
okay, thanks. that makes sense.
i'll look for a conversion utility.
Re: xbinvery nice! i see you color image from your bbs. I will try on mine!
By: MRO to Digital Man on Mon Mar 07 2022 21:28:46
MR> okay i used windows paint and saved as monocrome.
MR> i know years ago deuce was working on displaying image files like jpgs but
MR> they were in a separate window. it would be nice if syncterm could display
MR> a png in the client the way it can display these xb files.
MR> looks like this format requires a lot of image tweaking and has a lot of
MR> limitations. that's probably why it wasnt widely used.
He added support for sixel around the same time. I don't remember the limitations of the format, but you get colours and decent looking images. Should be possible to find conversion utilities online.
I think there's a demo of it on my BBS immediately upon connection if you're using a high enough SyncTERM version. (An image will show up before the login menu appears.)
The display function I'm using is like this, where 'fn' is a string, path to a sixel file:
load('cterm_lib.js');
function show_sixel(fn) {
if (console.cterm_version >= 1189) {
var image = new File(fn);
if (image.exists) {
if (image.open("rb", true)) {
var readlen = console.output_buffer_level + console.output_buffer_space;
readlen /= 2;
console.clear();
while (!image.eof) {
var imagedata=image.read(readlen);
while (console.output_buffer_space < imagedata.length) {
mswait(1);
}
console.write(imagedata);
}
image.close();
return true;
}
}
}
return false;
}
There's no technical reason SyncTERM couldn't show a PNG directly, but I doubt if that'll ever happen (for a variety of reasons).
Re: xbin
By: MRO to echicken on Tue Mar 08 2022 03:56:40
would be great if we could use .png files in our bbses but it's probably not possible. that's too bad.
Conversion on demand is probably the way to go, and doable with existing command line utilities (eg. img2sixel). I'd have it produce copies for each terminal size it encounters and reuse those files later. An at-code could invoke the converter/loader and then display the image, and the sysop wouldn't have to think beyond dropping the PNG somewhere on disk.
okay, thanks. that makes sense.
i'll look for a conversion utility.
On debian you can install libsixel-bin and get the sixel2png tool
Re: xbin
By: MRO to echicken on Tue Mar 08 2022 03:56:40
would be great if we could use .png files in our bbses but it's
probably not possible. that's too bad.
Conversion on demand is probably the way to go, and doable with existing command line utilities (eg. img2sixel). I'd have it produce copies for each terminal size it encounters and reuse those files later. An at-code could invoke the converter/loader and then display the image, and the sysop wouldn't have to think beyond dropping the PNG somewhere on disk.
There's no technical reason SyncTERM couldn't show a PNG directly, but I doubt if that'll ever happen (for a variety of reasons).
Re: xbin
By: echicken to MRO on Tue Mar 08 2022 02:35 pm
There's no technical reason SyncTERM couldn't show a PNG directly, but I doubt if that'll ever happen (for a variety of reasons).
There are a couple features now that I think are specific to SyncTerm that other terminals can't do. One of them is being able to change fonts, and I think this feature of showing images is also a feature specific to SyncTerm?
There are a couple features now that I think are specific to SyncTerm that other terminals can't do. One of them is being able to change fonts, and I think this feature of showing images is also a feature specific to SyncTerm?
yeah but i think that would create a lag that users wouldn't like.
Re: xbin
By: Digital Man to MRO on Mon Mar 07 2022 08:37 pm
it didnt turn out great. probably because of the white bg https://i.imgur.com/oBJJopW.png
I think you need to start with a better image.
better how?
i used a screenshot of an ansi file.
should i make it so the bg isnt white?
It's call Sixel, it displays in the same window.
i think that would be a big game changer for the client.
It's been there for several years now. Check dura-bbs.net:6359 if you want to see some cool stuff being done with both SyncTERM fonts and Sixel from an Apple ][.
yeah that looks cool. when deuce first showed me syncterm working with images it had a separate window popup.
does sixel take png files?
that's what i was talking about, not xbin files
looks like this format requires a lot of image tweaking and has a lot of limitations. that's probably why it wasnt widely used.
XBin images are compatible with SyncTERM 1.0. That's it's main feature. <shrug> --
so why didn't my image convert correctly? i had it saved as monochrome and changed the resolution so it was divisable by 8.
what do i have to do to an image to get it to display correctly.
also you said :
i know years ago deuce was working on displaying image files like jpgs but they were in a separate window. it would be nice if syncterm could display a png in the client the way it can display these xb files.
It's call Sixel, it displays in the same window.
so can syncterm display jpgs and other images? png would be better because of the colors.
Re: xbin
By: echicken to MRO on Tue Mar 08 2022 02:35 pm
There's no technical reason SyncTERM couldn't show a PNG directly, but I doubt if that'll ever happen (for a variety of reasons).
There are a couple features now that I think are specific to SyncTerm that other terminals can't do. One of them is being able to change fonts,
and I
think this feature of showing images is also a feature specific to SyncTerm?
so why didn't my image convert correctly? i had it saved as monochrome and changed the resolution so it was divisable by 8.
It looks like it did convert correctly, you just used a very low quality source image.
so can syncterm display jpgs and other images? png would be better
because of the colors.
JPGs or PNGs can be converted to Sixel and it'll display them.
Re: xbin
By: MRO to echicken on Tue Mar 08 2022 03:56:40
would be great if we could use .png files in our bbses but it's probably not possible. that's too bad.
Conversion on demand is probably the way to go, and doable with existing command line utilities (eg. img2sixel). I'd have it produce copies for each terminal size it encounters and reuse those files later. An at-code could invoke the converter/loader and then display the image, and the sysop wouldn't have to think beyond dropping the PNG somewhere on disk.
There's no technical reason SyncTERM couldn't show a PNG directly, but I doubt if that'll ever happen (for a variety of reasons).
okay, thanks. that makes sense.
i'll look for a conversion utility.
On debian you can install libsixel-bin and get the sixel2png tool
Re: xbin
By: Digital Man to MRO on Tue Mar 08 2022 07:25 pm
so why didn't my image convert correctly? i had it saved as monochrome and changed the resolution so it was divisable by 8.
It looks like it did convert correctly, you just used a very low quality source image.
yeah but isnt that the very definition of what it accepts.
so can syncterm display jpgs and other images? png would be better
because of the colors.
JPGs or PNGs can be converted to Sixel and it'll display them.
yeah but you sacrifice colors and overall quality.
that's too bad because sixel is very limited.
Re: Re: xbin
By: Ragnarok to MRO on Tue Mar 08 2022 11:26 am
okay, thanks. that makes sense.
i'll look for a conversion utility.
On debian you can install libsixel-bin and get the sixel2png tool
nah i think i'm done with sixel. i was hoping i could display full color images with syncterm finally.
Re: xbin
By: MRO to echicken on Wed Mar 09 2022 12:51 am
that's too bad because sixel is very limited.
In what way? Are you confusing Sixel with XBin images? They're not the same thing at all.
nah i think i'm done with sixel. i was hoping i could display full color images with syncterm finally.
You seem to be confusing Sixel and XBin images. Totally different things.
yeah but you sacrifice colors and overall quality.
No, Sixel is a pixel-for-pixel high color image transmission protocol.
Re: xbin
By: MRO to Digital Man on Wed Mar 09 2022 12:46 am
JPGs or PNGs can be converted to Sixel and it'll display them.
Is there a max size that is allowed. I used an online converter to convert a jpg to sixel, and it displayed fine on a sixel viewer, but when I used the sysop ;list function logged in with syncterm 1.1, all I got was garbage, lines and lines of it (code). The file size after conversion was 1.4 meg.
I've been following this thread, and I like sixel over xbin, not for logon pics, or menu pics, just able to use them in an online viewer.
Netrunner can change fonts too, just not to sysop-defined fonts.
Sixel is a standard supported by other terminals too, though those terminals are not BBS-centric.
Is there a max size that is allowed. I used an online converter to convert a jpg to sixel, and it displayed fine on a sixel viewer, but when I used the sysop ;list function logged in with syncterm 1.1, all I got was garbage, lines and lines of it (code). The file size after conversion was 1.4 meg.
Re: Re: xbin
By: Digital Man to MRO on Tue Mar 08 2022 11:44 pm
nah i think i'm done with sixel. i was hoping i could display full color images with syncterm finally.
You seem to be confusing Sixel and XBin images. Totally different things.
no, i just thought they both had poor graphics.
years ago i'd really like to use png files with my bbses instead of using something else.
at this point there's no users so, doesn't matter.
Re: xbin
By: Digital Man to MRO on Tue Mar 08 2022 11:42 pm
Re: xbin
By: MRO to Digital Man on Wed Mar 09 2022 12:46 am
JPGs or PNGs can be converted to Sixel and it'll display them.
Is there a max size that is allowed. I used an online converter to convert a jpg to sixel, and it displayed fine on a sixel viewer, but when I used the sysop ;list function logged in with syncterm 1.1, all I got was garbage, lines and lines of it (code). The file size after conversion was 1.4 meg.
I've been following this thread, and I like sixel over xbin, not for logon pics, or menu pics, just able to use them in an online viewer.
They're full color, high-res. Or just web-search for "Sixel" and you'll see tons of examples.
at this point there's no users so, doesn't matter.
Let's be honest, you don't really *want* users, right? :-)
Re: xbin
By: DesotoFireflite to Digital Man on Wed Mar 09 2022 08:37 am
Is there a max size that is allowed. I used an online converter to
convert a jpg to sixel, and it displayed fine on a sixel viewer, but
when I used the sysop ;list function logged in with syncterm 1.1, all
I got was garbage, lines and lines of it (code). The file size after
conversion was 1.4 meg.
I've been following this thread, and I like sixel over xbin, not for
logon
pics, or menu pics, just able to use them in an online viewer.
i'd rather it just support png without converters.
anyways, maybe what would help us out in the current age is to go in the direction that excaliber bbs was going. there it had graphics and sound.
or maybe that was a harbinger that we should have just all gone to using the web and what we have now with fb and telegram and instagram.
i wonder about bbsing. what draw do we have to people today? people that used to use bbses dont come back. people that come here for the retro dont stick around.
i just have a feeling we are missing something. just copying something isnt going to do it.
anyways, maybe what would help us out in the current age is to go in the direction that excaliber bbs was going. there it had graphics and sound.
i checked out echicken's bbs and it does have a nice colorful one right before the login. i dont know if there's more on his bbs to view, i looked around but didn't see any.
Re: Re: xbin
By: MRO to Digital Man on Wed Mar 09 2022 12:04:31
i checked out echicken's bbs and it does have a nice colorful one right before the login. i dont know if there's more on his bbs to view, i looked around but didn't see any.
That's the only one. It's just there as a demo. I never found any practical use for it on my BBS and didn't pursue it further.
Re: xbin
By: Digital Man to Nightfox on Tue Mar 08 2022 07:27 pm
DM> Netrunner can change fonts too, just not to sysop-defined fonts.
DM> Sixel is a standard supported by other terminals too, though those
DM> terminals are not BBS-centric.
Interesting.. I've mostly only used terminal emulation software for calling BBSes. I didn't know these were standard features.
Nightfox
anyways, maybe what would help us out in the current age is to go in
the direction that excaliber bbs was going. there it had graphics
and sound.
At a certain point you're just reinventing the web browser. There was a time when these would've been awesome features for a BBS to have, but timing just didn't work out. Everyone bailed for the web because it was prettier, easier to use, and a wider world. And that was way back when, before apps and touchscreens and really fine-tuned UI design.
it looks decent, though. would you be able to have it has a header for a main menu?
Re: xbin
By: DesotoFireflite to Digital Man on Wed Mar 09 2022 08:37 am
Is there a max size that is allowed. I used an online converter to
convert a jpg to sixel, and it displayed fine on a sixel viewer, but
when I used the sysop ;list function logged in with syncterm 1.1, all
I got was garbage, lines and lines of it (code). The file size after
conversion was 1.4 meg.
I've been following this thread, and I like sixel over xbin, not for
logon
pics, or menu pics, just able to use them in an online viewer.
I haven't tried it, but I suspect the ;list command probably isn't suitable for viewing Sixel data (since it assumes you're viewing a *text* file and would perform functions like word/line wrapping).
Re: xbin
By: DesotoFireflite to Digital Man on Wed Mar 09 2022 08:37:29
Is there a max size that is allowed. I used an online converter to
convert a jpg to sixel, and it displayed fine on a sixel viewer, but
when I used the sysop ;list function logged in with syncterm 1.1,
all I got was garbage, lines and lines of it (code). The file size
after conversion was 1.4 meg.
It might be about the size of the file. The code example I posted a while ago makes a special point of only loading so much at a time and waiting for space in the buffer. I don't remember if that was a real problem.
I know that I had trouble with image dimensions, but I can't remember if it was a showstopper if the image was larger than the terminal etc. In any case, scaling the image would be an important step. The source PNG for the graphic I'm using is 640x384 pixels.
re-inventing things that have already been done. And if we want better graphics and image display capabilities, RIP and RoboBoard were a couple of standards I had seen in the 90s for providing graphics capabilities for BBSes.
For "better" graphics you might as well just use the web. RIP is something to use out of nostalgia or curiosity. The main selling point for using a BBS from a terminal today is the simplistic, keyboard-driven, textmode UI.
I've thought about this too. Going down this route is basically re-inventing things that have already been done. And if we want better graphics and image display capabilities, RIP and RoboBoard were a couple of standards I had seen in the 90s for providing graphics capabilities for BBSes.
something to use out of nostalgia or curiosity. The main selling point
for using a BBS from a terminal today is the simplistic,
keyboard-driven, textmode UI.
i disagree. the main selling point of a bbs is probably the content they provide. so that would probably be the doorgames [if you had user interact
Note that I said "The main selling point for using a BBS from a terminal".
We're not going to improve the BBS in any meaningful way by mixing half-baked GUI notions into the textmode/terminal experience. That type of UI is already available elsewhere, even from our own systems via other protocols, and done better. It's a disservice to the terminal to pit it
Re: xbin
By: MRO to DesotoFireflite on Wed Mar 09 2022 09:56:09
MR> anyways, maybe what would help us out in the current age is to go in the
MR> direction that excaliber bbs was going. there it had graphics and sound.
At a certain point you're just reinventing the web browser. There was a time when these would've been awesome features for a BBS to have, but timing just didn't work out. Everyone bailed for the web because it was prettier, easier to use, and a wider world. And that was way back when, before apps and touchscreens and really fine-tuned UI design.
By the time the BBS is retooled and reinvented sufficiently to appeal to modern users, and maybe serve communities in need of their own self-hosted hub, it'll look very different. It'd probably look like a mishmash of several modern apps, with a curious textmode option attached that few people ever use. There's probably a place for that, but I guarantee that tons of people here would refuse to call it a BBS at that point.
---
echicken
electronic chicken bbs - bbs.electronicchicken.com
---
� Synchronet � electronic chicken bbs - bbs.electronicchicken.com
Re: Re: xbin
By: MRO to Digital Man on Wed Mar 09 2022 12:04:31
MR> i checked out echicken's bbs and it does have a nice colorful one right
MR> before the login. i dont know if there's more on his bbs to view, i looked
MR> around but didn't see any.
That's the only one. It's just there as a demo. I never found any practical use for it on my BBS and didn't pursue it further.
It would be nice to be able to put a transparent background to syncterm hahaha
Re: xbin
By: MRO to Digital Man on Mon Mar 07 2022 21:28:46
The display function I'm using is like this, where 'fn' is a string, path to a sixel file:
load('cterm_lib.js');
function show_sixel(fn) {
if (console.cterm_version >= 1189) {
var image = new File(fn);
if (image.exists) {
if (image.open("rb", true)) {
var readlen = console.output_buffer_level + console.output_buffer_space; readlen /= 2;
console.clear();
while (!image.eof) {
var imagedata=image.read(readlen);
while (console.output_buffer_space < imagedata.length) {
mswait(1);
}
console.write(imagedata);
}
image.close();
return true;
}
Ok, so far, I made a file with the ext of js, and put it in my mods directory. I tried calling the file ?file.js c:/sbbs/text.oip.six. with no
From Newsgroup: alt.bbs.synchronet
To: DesotoFireflite
Re: xbin
By: DesotoFireflite to echicken on Thu Mar 10 2022 13:11:14
If you add this line to the end of the JS file, it should try to display the sixel file given on your command line:
show_sixel(argv[0]);
Re: xbin
By: DesotoFireflite to echicken on Thu Mar 10 2022 13:11:14
If you add this line to the end of the JS file, it should try to display the sixel file given on your command line:
show_sixel(argv[0]);
| Sysop: | Chris Crash |
|---|---|
| Location: | Huntington Beach, CA. |
| Users: | 577 |
| Nodes: | 8 (0 / 8) |
| Uptime: | 62:25:01 |
| Calls: | 10,734 |
| Calls today: | 1 |
| Files: | 5 |
| Messages: | 442,643 |
