To find the maximum number of colours in the screen that is currently active, test the SCREEN COLOUR function now:
D> Print Screen Colour
SCIN
function: give screen number at hardware coordinates
number=SCIN(x,y)
The SCIN function (short for SCreen In) is normally used with X MOUSE and Y MOUSE to check whether the mouse cursor has entered a particular screen. It returns the number of the screen which is underneath the selected hardware coordinates. If there is no screen there, a negative number will be returned.
IFF screens
IFF stands for Interchangeable File Format, commonly used to pass data between computers.
IFF pictures from Dpaint are a classic example. As well as importing your own IFF drawings,
AMOS Professional allows you to make use of legally available, ready-made pictures in the
public domain, for your own programs.
LOAD IFF
instruction: load an IFF screen from disc
Load Iff "filename"
Load Iff "filename",screen number
With the appropriate IFF picture files ready to be loaded on disc, this command is used to load the selected filename to the current screen. There is an optional screen number parameter, which will open that screen for the picture. If this numbered screen already exists, its contents will be erased and replaced by the IFF data.
SAVE IFF
instruction: save an IFF screen to disc
Save Iff "filename"
Save Iff "filename",compression mode
The SAVE IFF command saves the current screen as an IFF picture file with the selected filename onto disc. Certain data is automatically added to this IFF file, which stores the present screen settings, including any SCREEN DISPLAY, SCREEN OFFSET, SCREEN HIDE and SCREEN SHOW. This will be stored and recognised by AMOS Professional whenever this file is loaded again, so that the IFF screen will be displayed exactly as it was saved. Please note that this data will be ignored by other graphics packages, such as Dpaint 3, also that it is not possible to save double buffered or dual playfield screens with this command.
An optional parameter can be added after the filename, which selects whether or not the IFF file is to be compacted before it is saved. A value of 1 specifies that the standard AMOS Professional compression system is to be used, whereas a zero saves the picture without any compression.