RLATORLE(1)                                         RLATORLE(1)





NAME
       rlatorle - convert a Wavefront "rla" or "rlb" image file
       into an RLE image file.

SYNOPSIS
       rlatorle [ -b ] [ -h ] [ -v ] [ -m ] [ -o  outfile  ]  [
       infile.rla ]

DESCRIPTION
       This  program converts Wavefront image files (rla or rlb
       formats) into Utah RLE(5) image files.  Wavefront  image
       files  store  RGB data as well as a matte channel.  They
       also define a "bounding box"  containing  non-background
       pixels  which  is  in  many cases smaller than the total
       image area.  Only this non-background area is run length
       encoded.   When  converting  to  an  RLE file, the matte
       channel is stored as an alpha channel and the  "bounding
       box" dimensions are ignored.  It is for this reason that
       in general the RLE version of the file  will  be  larger
       than its Wavefront counterpart.

       The  RLE  file  will  contain  a  "true color" image (24
       bits).  These RLE files may then be viewed using any RLE
       image  viewer.  When they are displayed on an 8 bit dis-
       play, the image will be dithered.  In order to produce a
       better  looking  image (on 8 bit displays), it is recom-
       mended that the image be quantizing  (to  8  bit  mapped
       color) prior to its display.  This may be done by piping
       the output of this program  into  the  Utah  mcut(1)  or
       rlequant(1)  utilities.   An  example  of  this is shown
       later.


OPTIONS
       -b     This option will cause rlatorle to convert from a
              Wavefront "rlb" image rather than use the default
              "rla" conversion.

       -v     This option will cause  rlatorle  to  operate  in
              verbose  mode.  The header information is written
              to "stderr".

       -h     This option allows the header  of  the  wavefront
              image to be dumped to "stderr" without converting
              the file.  It  is  equivalent  to  using  the  -v
              option  except  that  no  file  conversion  takes
              place.

       -m     This option will cause rlatorle to ignore the RGB
              data  and  use  the  matte channel information to
              produce a monochrome image.   The  resulting  RLE
              image  file  will  contain only one color channel
              instead of the usual four (RGB + alpha).

       -o outfile
              If specified, the output will be written to  this
              file.   If outfile is "-", or if it is not speci-
              fied, the output will be written to the  standard
              output stream.

       infile.rla
              The  name  of the Wavefront image data file to be
              converted.  It is not  necessary  to  supply  the
              ".rla" or ".rlb" extension as it will be added to
              the supplied name if not already there.

EXAMPLES
       rlatorle -v test.0001.rla -o test.rle
              While   running   in   verbose   mode,    convert
              test.0001.rla  to  RLE format and store resulting
              data in test.rle.

       rlatorle test.0001.rla | mcut >test.rle
              Convert test.0001.rla to RLE format  and  convert
              to  8  bit  mapped  color  before storing data in
              test.rle

       rlatorle -h test.0001.rla
              Dump the header information of the Wavefront file
              called test.0001.rla.

       rlatorle -b test.0001 | get4d
              Convert  test.0001.rlb  to RLE format and display
              the resulting image.

SEE ALSO
       mcut(1), rlequant(1), rletorla(1), urt(1), RLE(5).

AUTHOR
       Wesley C. Barris
       Army High Performance Computing Research Center (AHPCRC)
       Minnesota Supercomputer Center, Inc.



1                         May 30, 1990              RLATORLE(1)
