Colours; F3 Graphics, Modes And Sound - AMSTRAD CPC464 User Manual

Foundations 3:
Graphics, modes and
Sound
The Amstrad CPC 464 Colour Personal Computer has three modes of screen display operation: Mode
0, Mode 1, and Mode 2.
When the computer is first switched on, it is automatically in Mode 1.
To understand the different modes, switch on the computer and press the number 1 key. Hold it
down until two lines are full of number 1' s. If you now count the number of 1' s on a line, you will see
that there are 40. This means that in mode 1, there are 40 columns. Press [ENTER] - you will get a
S y n t a x error message, but don' t worry, this is just a quick way of getting back to the Ready
message that tells you the computer is waiting for your next instruction.
Now type in: mode 0 [ENTER]
You will see the characters on the screen are now larger. Press the number 1 key again and hold it
down until two lines are full of 1' s. If you count the number of 1' s on a line, you will see there are 20.
This means that in mode 0, there are 20 columns. Press [ENTER] again.
Now type in: mode 2 [ENTER]
You will see that this is the smallest mode, and if you type in a row of 1' s, you will count 80. This
means that in mode 2 there are 80 columns. To recap:
Mode 0 = 20 columns
Mode 1 = 40 columns
Mode 2 = 80 columns
Finally, press [ENTER] once more.

COLOURS

There is a choice of 27 colours. These are shown on a green monitor (GT 64) as various shades of
green. If you purchased the GT 64 monitor, you can buy the AMSTRAD MP1 Modulator/Power
supply in order to use the computer' s colour facilities on your domestic colour T.V.
In Mode 0, up to 16 of the 27 available colours can be put on to the screen at any time.
In Mode 1, up to 4 of the 27 colours can be put on to the screen at any time.
In Mode 2, up to 2 of the 27 colours can be put on to the screen at any time.
You are able to change the colour of the B O R D E R , the PAPER (the area where the characters can
appear) or the PEN (the character itself), all independently of each other.