PETSCII Wizard

I. Basic Settings & Project Management

The fundamental settings are located on the right side (Sidebar) and the top bar:

• Platform Selection (Profile): Supports C64 (40×25), Plus/4 (40×25), VIC-20 (22×23), and PET (40×28). Warning: Switching platforms will clear your current drawing!
• Charset: Choose the original character order or two "Group Similar" views. You can also upload a custom .bin charset (2048, 4096, or 8192 bytes). Toggle the editor grid and Upper/Lower case mode. (Case toggle is hidden for PET and 2048-byte ROMs.)
• Colors (Palette): Set your active drawing color on the left of the palette area. Below that, set the Background (Bg) and Border colors.
• File Operations:
  • LOAD / SAVE: Save and load your entire project as a .c file.
  • EXP (Export): Export as C source (.c), image (.png), or raw data (.txt).
  • IMP (Import): Import raw memory dumps (.bin, .raw, .seq) or paste hex/decimal text data.

II. Drawing Tools (Left Toolbar)

• Pencil: Freehand drawing with a 1-character brush.
• Eraser: Places an empty space character using the background color.
• Color Picker (Eyedropper): Pick up a color and character directly from the canvas.
• Line / Rect / Circle: Draw geometric shapes.
  • Submenus (click and hold the icon): Normal mode, 1/4 block Quad mode, and (for Line) Smooth mode using rounded line characters.
• Flood Fill: Fill connected areas with your active color/character.
• Select: Select areas for copying and stamping (see Stamping below).
• Quad (1/4 Pixel): Draw finer, quarter-pixel block graphics.
• Text: Type text directly onto the canvas.
• Replace (Magic Wand): Click a cell to replace all matching characters/colors on the canvas with your active selection.
• Transformations: Flip H, Flip V, Rotate, and Invert (XOR).
• Nudge (Arrows): Shift the entire canvas content up, down, left, or right.

III. Animation & Frames (Frame Bar)

• NEW / DUP / CUT: Create a new blank frame, duplicate the current one, or delete the current frame.
• Playback: Play/Stop button to preview your animation.
• Speed: Adjustable animation speed in milliseconds (ms).
• Navigation: Switch frames using the Left/Right arrows or by clicking thumbnails.

IV. Image Import (Image to PETSCII)

• Image Import Tool (bottom-left picture icon): Automatically convert a JPG/PNG image into PETSCII art.
• Adjust Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation via sliders.
• Colors: Restrict which palette colors the conversion algorithm may use.
• Characters: Choose All Characters or define a strict Custom Set for the converter.

V. Keyboard Shortcuts & Mouse Tricks