1. Let's get that FshEditor program up and running and working for you!

There are two ways to start up the FshEditor program.  If you have Furcadia open, click on the first tab on the left side of your screen, then click on Furcadia Patch Editor. Or, if you are not on Furc, go to your Start Menu, Furcadia, and click on FshEdit :) Once  you have started up the FshEditor program, select "File", "Open", and then browse for the copy of the player.fsh you made and select it.

There are other FSH files, but to get started, here are the main ones and what they do.  These are the exact names that the main Furcadia program needs and recognizes.
 
 

FSH NAME	GRAPHIC
wall.fsh	flat walls, walls with windows etc.
junction.fsh	door ways, and the joints between walls
tile.fsh	floor tiles
item.fsh	objects in Furcadia.
item2.fsh	more objects in Furcadia.
player.fsh	normal furres
player2.fsh	winged furres
portrait.fsh	furre portraits (normal and winged)
player3.fsh	dragons
portait3.fsh	dragon portraits
player4.fsh	phoenix
portrait4.fsh	phoenix portraits

   FshEditor lets you import and export .BMP (Windows "bitmap" format) files.

   Warning: you should never, ever add or subtract a whole Shape from a .FSH. There's an exact count for the number of Shapes each .FSH is supposed to have!
 

2. Back up your files!

Make a folder called `Practice' in the `Patches' folder of your `Furcadia' folder. Also make a folder called `originals' in the `Patches' folder of your `Furcadia' folder.  Keep a copy of all the original .fsh files here in case  you want to restore them.
 

3. Copy item.fsh into your Practice folder.

(You'll find it in your C:\Program Files\furcadia\Patches\Default folder) Play around with this copy so that you don't mess up your Furcadia.
 

4. In the Editor

As the FSH file loads you'll see a blank screen but with a single tap of the + key on your keyboard, low and behold. A Red Pillow!

Different kinds of Shapes have different "Properties". Object Shapes (Shapes from item.fsh, item2.fsh, and item.fsh) can be "walkable",  "sittable", and "gettable". The pillow happens to have all three Properties. (For a full list of default Object properties, see http://www.furcadia.com/pixel/dreams/furcobj9.txt) Item.fsh is a file that's exclusively for use by Patchers, and there aren't default objects that get replaced.

   Changing properties is an advanced topic, and properties are stored in their own files, called .FBJ.
 

5. The Colors

As I'm sure you've already seen, there is a color palette on the right. These colors are the only ones you can use for Furcadia, other colors won't show up. Select a color with a simple left click of the mouse on the color of  your choice. ( The Black color in the top left hand corner of the palette is the invisible color which you use for the background of an object or furre picture.)
 

6. Zooming In

Now this pillow looks rather far away to do any detailed drawing, so let's get it a bit closer shall we? See that button to the left with a magnifying glass with a + sign on it? Press that three times :)
 

7. Zooming Out

Eek! Ok, maybe too close there? Just left-click on the magnifying glass  with a - sign on it. Much better.
 

8. Just Do it!

Now its just a matter of drawing to your heart's content.
 

9. Save

Once you're satisfied with your pillow, click on "File", and then "Save".
 

Don't worry:  Your Patch folder contains a whole .FSH, but Furcadia only uploads the Shapes which are different from the default. That means, if you have changed one pillow object Shape, you don't have to download all the other objects which haven't been changed.

But Do Keep In Mind : The more new objects you attach to your dream, the longer it will take to download for other furres. If the download time is too long, you may lose furres deciding they don't want to wait.

    This is what "Scan" does: It takes -all- those .PCX files with which it was packaged, and converts them -all- into -preset- .FSH files. Run it from DOS by being in its directory and typing `scan'. Or bring it up on your Win95 Desktop, and double-click it. It will generate new .FSH files. WHAT ARE .FSH's? .FSH stands for `Furcadia SHapes.' That's the little animal guys, the trees, the grass, the walls, the CD player with matching CD stand- all that good stuff. Remember that monkeying with this will *only* change them on -your- copy, UNLESS you put the .FSH's in a Patch directory, and choose this Patch directory in the Dream editor. If you make a mess of things, you can always delete your old stuff, and activate `furzip.exe', which will unpack a fresh new copy of Furcadia for you. When you look at one of those .PCX's you'll see Boundary Boxes around them. Felorin's Scan.exe "grabs" shapes as it finds the boxes, going from upper left to upper right, and downwards. Kind of like the way words in a Crossword puzzle are numbered. As long as there are 16 of them on a page where Scan.exe was expecting, it will work fine. If you accidentally move a Boundary Box you could therefore upset their numerical order. Do what Tal does: try not to mess with the Boundary Boxes. Whatever color pixel is in the upper left hand corner of Boundary Box is that shape's "transparent" color. (They call it the "masking" color too but Tal hates that term because it doesn't sound like what it is.) Make sure you only use that one color (and not one that -looks- like it) where you want see-through. Use "Stencils" to "lock down" the color used in a "boundary box". If your paint program doesn't let you do this-- oh by all the sweet whiskers of the Primes!-- get a copy of Dpaint and LEARN to use Stencil! :) NOTE: Do not save a .PCX with "stencil on"; a file with a stencil still in effect will not work with Scan. Now, outside those boundary boxes, you have to be even more careful. Just ONE stray pixel, and poor Scan.exe will CHOKE. This is so that only Perfect artists can make Furcadia art... ;) ****** Here is the package containing all the .PCX's used, and Unicorn Scan.exe, which takes the .PCX files and makes .FSH files. (These .FSH files are the files that go into a Patch directory!)

Get attached to your patch!

1. Run the Dream Editor (dreamed.exe).
2. Make a new Dream.(Or chose one you already made and want to apply the patch to)
3. Click on `Patches' on the taskbar at the top.  It has a blank that says Dream Settings.
4. Click the CHOOSE button.  Find your folder:
                    \furcadia\Patches\Practice
5. Click OK.
6. Next, click the dot next to "I want to use files...".
7. Click OK.
8. Now you should see your new pillow instead of the plain red one. Add it to the Dream, and click the taskbar: File, Save.
9. Go to Furcadia (I love that part!). Type Control-A to get to Allegria Island. (Or go to another dream map)
10. Type Control-T, to upload your new Patched Dream.

And there you have it.  Easy when you know how isn't it? :)