The Mask/Mandala Options screen provides parameters to configure the characteristics of Kaleider Masks and Mandalas.  The Mask Background determines what will fill the Masked portions of the display, which will remain static while the rest of the screen can change and evolve.  The choices are Mask Color, Original Image or Last Set Image.  When Original Image is set, the Background areas are filled with the un-altered source image, while the other portions of the screen can be manipulated.  With the Last Set Image choice, the Background will contain the most recent screen image captured via the Set Mask Background Image or Set Background/Create Stencil options (if no screen image has yet been captured, the original source image will be used).

The Mask Shape drop-down box allows a choice of Mandala, Oval, Diamond, Hexagon or Stencil.  The Mode parameter can be set to On/Off or Blend.  On/Off will simply treat light and dark areas as either totally transparent or totally opaque.  Blend, on the other hand, will allow a full range of translucency, blending evolving Kaleider patterns with the unchanging Background according to degrees of lightness/darkness.  The On/Off Threshold sets the cut-off level (between 0 and 255) at which the Mask switches between transparent and opaque when the Mode is On/Off.  The Negative Mask option reverses how light/dark areas of the Mask are interpreted.  The Strength value regulates the intensity of blending, essentially adjusting the contrast of the Mask by accentuating or lessening the differences between light and dark areas.

The Mode, On/Off Threshold and Strength parameters available within the Set Mask Stencil Options box are applied only when one of the Create Stencil options have been used to dynamically create a Stencil based on the current screen display.
 

Kaleider  -  Create Mask

The Create Mask screen can be used to create a gray-scale image for use as a Kaleider Mask.  A Mask is constructed from a Base Image, which by default is set to the Current Screen Display.  The Base Image Origin can also be set to the Current Shape/Stencil, a Pasted Image or any Selected Image.

Press the Create/Update Mask button to build a Mask from the current Base Image.  A Contrast value can be adjusted from -100 to 100 to control how the Base Image is interpreted -- higher values will tend to emphasize differences, and make the Mask more sharply defined.  The Basis parameter determines which property of the Base Image is used to construct the Mask.  By default, it is set to Light/Dark, but the degree of Redness, Greenness or Blueness can also be used.  The Negative Mask option will reverse the light/dark areas in the gray-scale Mask image.  After making any changes, press the Create/Update Mask button again to build a revised Mask.

Press Save As Stencil to permanently keep the Mask as a Stencil Image file.  Press the Set as Current Mask button to apply the created Mask to the screen display.

NOTE:  The Create Stencil From Display options can also be used to dynamically create a Stencil based on the current screen display, and the Set Background/Create Stencil options will automatically create a Stencil, while simultaneously setting the current display as the Mask Background Image.