The Mask Options screen provides parameters to configure the characteristics
of Liquib Masking. 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 Mask
Stencil/Background 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 Circle, 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 Liquib manipulations 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
Set Mask Stencil/Background options have been used to dynamically create a
Stencil based on the current screen display.
Liquib - Create Mask
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 Set Mask Stencil/Background options can also be used to
dynamically create a Stencil based on the current screen display, while
simultaneously setting the current display as the Mask Background Image.
The Create Mask screen can be used to create a gray-scale image for use as
a Liquib 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.