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Last-changed: 2004-06-06.
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Answers to frequently asked questions about ASCII art Table of Contents
[1] What's alt.ascii-art? What's going on here?You're probably reading this because it's been posted to news:alt.ascii-art, news:alt.ascii-art.animation or rec.arts.ascii. If you're not, jump in and take a look. In these Usenet groups people discuss ASCII art, request ASCII art, post ASCII art, post improved versions or variations of other people's ASCII art, and generally have fun. [2] What is ASCII art?ASCII art is any sort of pictures or diagrams drawn with the printable characters in the ASCII character set. (For a definition of ASCII, see Question 3.) :-) Probably the most common ASCII art picture is the smiley (-: but it can get a lot more sophisticated than that.
____
.-" +' "-. Here's a small ASCII picture of
/.'.'A_'*`.\ a snow-scene paperweight,
|:.*'/\-\. ':| drawn by Joan Stark:
|:.'.||"|.'*:|
\:~^~^~^~^:/ If this picture looks very strange and
/`-....-'\ you can't really tell what it is,
jgs / \ don't panic -- see Question 5.
`-.,____,.-'
People use ASCII art for a number of reasons. Here are some of them.
[3] What does ASCII mean?ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) 7-bit as defined in ISO-646 is a basic set of 128 numbered symbols which almost all kinds of computer can display. Here are the ones that are used for ASCII art:
032 [space] 048 0 064 @ 080 P 096 ` 112 p
033 ! 049 1 065 A 081 Q 097 a 113 q
034 " 050 2 066 B 082 R 098 b 114 r
035 # 051 3 067 C 083 S 099 c 115 s
036 $ 052 4 068 D 084 T 100 d 116 t
037 % 053 5 069 E 085 U 101 e 117 u
038 & 054 6 070 F 086 V 102 f 118 v
039 ' 055 7 071 G 087 W 103 g 119 w
040 ( 056 8 072 H 088 X 104 h 120 x
041 ) 057 9 073 I 089 Y 105 i 121 y
042 * 058 : 074 J 090 Z 106 j 122 z
043 + 059 ; 075 K 091 [ 107 k 123 {
044 , 060 < 076 L 092 \ 108 l 124 |
045 - 061 = 077 M 093 ] 109 m 125 }
046 . 062 > 078 N 094 ^ 110 n 126 ~
047 / 063 ? 079 O 095 _ 111 o
There are other characters in the set (with the numbers 0 - 31 and 127), but they can do bad stuff to Usenet readers, so PLEASE DON'T USE THEM in your pictures (except characters 10 and or 13 which are used to insert a new-line by a variety of Operating Systems). [4] Why do the pictures look strange?If one particular picture posted to this group looks faulty, but the rest of them look fine, then its most likely a problem with that particular picture, or with the poster's Usenet program. But if *all* the pictures look bad, then your Usenet reader may be set to display messages in a proportional font (see Question 5).
[5] What font do you use for ASCII art?ASCII art is created using a fixed-width font (like on a traditional typewriter), because this is the only way to make it portable. However, several Usenet readers now display messages in a proportional font (where different characters are different widths). The following two lines tell you which kind of font you're using. The arrow ends up in a different place for different font types and is right most of the time: You are using a [Proportional] [Monospaced] font
................................. --^--
Also, to see what your program is doing, look at these two lines: iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii|
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW|
If they look the same length, you're using a fixed-width font and all should be ok. If the second line is longer than the first, you need to change your settings to use a fixed-width font.
If all else fails, copy the text of the picture from your program and paste it into a text editor (such as Notepad). It's a hassle, but at least you'll get to see the pictures. [6] What program do you use for ASCII art? You can create ASCII art in any text editor, [jorn barger]
such as: Notepad in Windows,
SimpleText or BBEdit in MacOS,
nedit, vi, vim, or pico in Unix, _+m"m+_
BEd or AZ in AmigaOS, edit in DOS, Jp qh
or any of the various Emacs editors. O O
Yb dY
A 'quick-start' program for learning "Y5m2Y"
is JavE, a free Java program, that can be
obtained from:- http://www.jave.de
Some editors have features which make them more
suitable for ASCII art than others, but that is
largely a matter of personal opinion. Features which
are both useful for ASCII art and available in many
text editors, include the following:-
* Overtype, also known as overstrike: removes the need for
you to constantly realign characters using the Backspace,
Space, and Delete keys. Try the Insert key if there is one
on your keyboard, or your program's Options or Preferences.
* Rectangular copy and paste: allows you to select rectangular
sections of text (not just rows or parts of rows). On programs
which have this feature, it is usually done by holding down a
key such as Ctrl while selecting text.
* Find/Change: allows you to change all the characters of one
value to another (eg: change all the ~s to "s).
[7] How do I draw my own ASCII art?Unfortunately, there aren't many text books on the subject. :-) A good way to learn is to study how someone has made a picture. What characters are chosen and how the characters are laid out. How a texture is made.
########:::::::::::######## The best way to learn is to Practise.
#########:::::::::######### Draw your cat, your toaster, your
##########:::::::########## partner, your musical instruments,
###########,---.########### anything that will sit still long
##########/`---'\########## enough. Practice makes, if not
#########/ \######### perfect, then at least pretty good.
########/ \######## Whether you do small drawings (less
#######:`-._____.-':####### work involved) or large ones (easier
######::::: ( ) |::::###### to make recognizable) is up to you.
#####:::::: ) ( o:::::##### If you're interested in tutorials,
####::::: .-(_)-. :::::#### there are many available from the
###:::::: '=====' ::::::### ASCII-art Documentation Archive.
########################Mk#
_
A good way to begin drawing is to \`"-.
type a row of spaces for however ) _`-.
wide you want your picture, and , : `. \
then copy this row and paste it : _ ' \
for however many rows high you ; *` _. `--._
think the picture will get. `-.-' `-.
Turn Overtype on and place the | ` `.
cursor somewhere in the middle :. . \
and begin drawing. This can save | \ . : .-' .
using Delete, Backspace, Enter : )-.; ; / :
and Space-bar keystrokes. : ; | : : ;-.
Saving this empty `canvas' as a ; / : |`-: _ `- )
read-only file for future use can ,-' / ,-' ; .-`- .' `--'
save you even more time later. `--' `---' `---' bug
Another method is by tracing a picture either onto clear-plastic and sticking it onto the screen then opening an editor to trace under or using an editor which allows the loading of a background image to trace over, a process known as `water-mark'. You can also modify existing art. Take a piece of art you think could be improved. Make a copy. Now work on it. When you are good at that, try to improve a really good pic. Then see if you can fix a damaged file. Now take some small pics and put them together into a big composite image. When drawing ASCII art be aware that there are a few characters that differ in size, shape and position among fonts: ' apostrophe -- tilts southwest-northeast or vertical [8] Can someone do me some kewl lettering?There is a program called Figlet which does that sort of thing automatically -- you type in `Jane Smith', and you get back
___ __,
( / ( o _/_ /
/ __, _ _ `. _ _ , / /_
_/_(_/(_/ /_(/_ (___)/ / /_(_(__/ /_
//
(/
in this and a whole lot of other fonts (see Question 9). The ASCII art text produced by Figlet can be quite stunning, so try it first before asking for help from the newsgroups. IF, however, Figlet doesn't produce the kind of results you want, THEN post to alt.ascii-art or rec.arts.ascii with your request and ensure that you include:
[9] Where can I find Figlet?The Figlet home page is at:- http://www.figlet.org/ and links to the FTP site:- ftp://ftp.figlet.org/pub/figlet/ where you can download versions of the program or source-code for many different platforms. You can run Figlet on the Web by going to one of the following sites and choosing your text and options on the Web page. Different sites offer different options (e.g. multiple fonts at once, justification, and limited line length). Some of these sites also provide an e-mail Figlet service for people with browsers which don't support forms.
[10] Can I copy or post that ASCII picture for myself? .
/ \ Don't assume that if somebody posts
| | something to a Usenet group, that gives
|.| you the right to use it however you like,
|.| copyright laws still apply.
|:| __ For more information, see the article:-
,_|:|_, / ) Copyright Myths FAQ:
(Oo / _I_ `10 big myths about copyright explained'
+\ \ || __| in news:news.announce.newusers.
\ \||___|
\ /.:.\-\ It is also available at:-
|.:. /-----\ http://www.clari.net/brad/copymyths.html
|___|::oOo::|
/ |:<_T_>:| Generally, ASCII artists don't mind
|_____\ ::: / if you copy their pictures and
| | \ \:/ re-post them or put them on your own
| | | | Web site, as long as you don't
[nosig] \ / | \__ make any money out of them.
/ | \____\
`-'
Here are a few important considerations:-
As for posting other people's ASCII art,
after a discussion in news:alt.ascii-art _ ___
the following rules were agreed upon: #_~`--'__ `===-,
1. If an ASCII ART picture has initials `.`. `#.,//
on it, leave them on when posting it ,_\_\ ## #\
2. If an ASCII ART picture doesn't have `__.__ `####\
initials on it, mention that you ~~\ ,###'~
didn't draw it when posting it. \##'
3. If somebody posts a picture without [nosig]
initials and you have an original copy
with initials on, feel free to re-post the original version.
* The re-post ought not to be taken personally, as we all
know that ASCII art often loses proper credits.
Responses to the re-post are not necessary.
One contributor, name of Krogg, suggested the following:
You choose ... I think the default choice is #3 but you should make up yer own mind.... [11] What way works best to ask for a picture of something?Give your request the subject: "REQ:" or "[req]" Whatever you're looking for a picture of, in the message describe more exactly what you're looking for. Generally, the more specific you are, the more likely you are to get some response. If you just say something like: "can someone draw me a fish, please" then you may not get many replies, because people may not know what size or feel they're wasting their time by drawing something you won't want. If you don't have Web access, mention this fact, otherwise you may get replies consisting only of URLs for the kind of pictures you're looking for. If someone is rude back to you directly, then please be patient, since it may just be a troll trying to wind you up.
__
.' )) __-:!:- If you have a picture
.' .' )) and want it Ascii-fied
((__,' .' .ASCII! -:!:- see Question 14 and 15.
-:!:- ((__,'^*
[12] What should I know before posting to alt.ascii-art?It doesn't matter if your ASCII art isn't particularly good; we'd like to see it anyway. We won't be rude about it (although you'd better tell us what it is, or we might ask :-), but if it shows potential, you may find that other people will `re-diddle' it -- change a few characters, make it a bit better, and re-post it. HOWEVER, there are a few things you should check before you post to news:alt.ascii-art any piece of ASCII art (see also Question 13).
If you're not sure about whether your message will turn out ok, post it to a test group (such as news:alt.test or news:misc.test) first and make sure that you can read it ok, also using a different newsreader, if you can. [See Question 10 for advice on posting someone else's ASCII art.] [13] What to NOT post to alt.ascii-art? [da roolz][13.1] ASCII art is a very simple medium.
/\ / /\ / / /\ /\ /
\/\ \ /\ \/\ \/\ \ \ \ __ \/\ \/_ /\
\ \/ \ o \ / \/ \ \ \ \ \
_ _ _ _
___ (~ )( ~) The following List of Items (~ )( ~) ___
/ \_\ \/ / should NOT be posted to \ \/ /_/ \
| D_ ]\ \/ the Usenet groups:- \/ /[ _G |
| D _]/\ \ / /\[_ G |
\___/ / /\ \ news:alt.ascii-art / /\ \ \___/
mark (_ )( _) news:alt.ascii-art.animation (_ )( _) JavE
~ ~ news:alt.ascii-art.endless.blabla ~ ~
news:alt.binaries.pictures.ascii
NOTE: alt.binaries.pictures.ascii supports posting of ASCII software tools or fonts (in ZIP format) and binary images of ASCII or other FontSet (in GIF format) and any other ASCII art related material, but no Spam, in relation to discussions in the alt.ascii-art newsgroups. Use the subject header: [abpa] for easy identification. -= List of Items =-
Finally, do not use any control codes, non-ASCII characters, or word-processor-type formatting in your postings. These are particular to your editor or computer system they will almost certainly not have the intended effect on the systems the rest of us use (they may even crash some Usenet readers). [13.2] What can I post to rec.arts.ascii? /\ / / /\ /\ / / /\ / /
\/_ \/ \ \/\ \/_ /\ \/\ \/\ \/\ \ \ \
\ \/ \/ o \ \ \ / o \ / \/ \ \
The official charter for rec.arts.ascii, as sent in the newsgroup control message, is: The group news:rec.arts.ascii will be an appropriate group for postings to include, but not be limited to, the following: o All forms of ASCII art including, but not limited to:
- Standard ASCII art.
- Animations.
- ANSI color graphics.
o Discussion about pieces of art.
o Requests for specific pieces of art, and their fulfilment.
o Questions and answers covering:
- Creating and viewing ASCII art.
- Locating FTP sites for ASCII art and related files.
o Discussion about artists in the field.
rec.arts.ascii is a moderated group meaning that all posts are reviewed before being sent to the group. That work is done by a robo-moderator which filters Spam and checks the posts have the correct format before approving them. It can also target a specific poster's traffic for human moderator approval. Subjects must be tagged either:
[PIC] for pictures
[REQ] for requests for others to draw pictures
(people replying with pictures change the tag to [PIC])
[DIS] for general ascii art related discussion and replies.
[ADMIN] for the moderator to post important information.
- for concise up-to-date list of permitted subject tags The robo-mod also checks that the posts are in PLAIN TEXT only, that line length is set to LESS than 80 characters UNLESS the phrase [long lines] is in the BODY of the post, when the LIMIT is then raised to 200 characters. Cross-posting is permitted provided that: [14] I have a picture and I would like it Asciified?In this case, post a request to news:alt.ascii-art asking for someone to `asciify' it, but PLEASE DON'T POST THE PICTURE ITSELF to save downloading time for people reading the messages, if possible give the URL (Web address) of the picture instead. If you saw the picture on a Web page, you can find out its URL by right-clicking on it (on the Macintosh, right-clicking, Ctrl-clicking, or holding down the mouse button) and selecting "Open this image" (or its equivalent for your Web browser), then copy the URL from the Location bar to your news program (make sure you copy it exactly). If the picture is not on a Web site anywhere, put it up on your own site (if you have one), or get a friend to put it up on their site, and post the URL to alt.ascii-art. If you can't do this, post your request to the newsgroups and wait for someone to reply, then post the picture to news:alt.binaries.pictures.ascii or e-mail to them. [15] How do I convert a picture to ASCII art?[15.1] ProgramsThere are computer programs available which convert graphics files of a variety of formats (often GIF) to ASCII art. They go by names such as ascgif, gifa, gifscii, and gif2ascii. Do a Web search for any of these programs to find places where you can download them. Try: Many think that you just put a GIF into a converter program and out comes a perfect ASCII pic. Here are some things you can do to improve the chances of getting a good conversion:-
[15.2] TracingAnother method is by tracing a picture, either onto clear-plastic and sticking it onto the screen then opening an editor to trace under or using an editor which allows the loading of a background image to trace over, a process known as "water-mark". [15.3] Image2htmlThere are computer programs and web-servers available which convert graphics files of a variety of formats (often GIF) to HTML colored TEXT art for use on web-pages. Do a quick search on your favourite web search-engine. [16] How do I put ASCII art on a webpage?HTML, the language used in Web pages, can display ASCII art using the "pre-formatted text" tags <PRE> </PRE> like this:-
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE> Ascii art on a webpage
</TILE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<PRE>
.----------------------------------------.
: __ :
: =='_)) __-:!:- (your ascii here) :
: ,.' .' ))-:!:- :
: ((_,' .'-:!:- :
: ~^~~~^~~^~~~^~ :
`----------------------------------------'
</PRE>
</BODY>
</HTML>
HTML can be used to add special effects such as colours, font size, and blinking text. For full instructions on how to do this see:- http://llizard.crosswinds.net/ascii-art/asciionpage.htm [17] What should I know about signature files?A signature file (or `sig' for short; not to be confused with the initials added to an ASCII picture) is a small, personalized text file which an e-mail or news program can add to the end of every message a person sends -- the equivalent of a letterhead for dead tree (paper) mail (or snail-mail). Usually it contains little more than the person's name, organization and e-mail address, maybe an inspirational quote of some sort and some people like to incorporate ASCII art into their signature files as well. _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ ___ \|/ ____ \|/
| | | ___| | (_) \| | __/ __| @~/ ,. \~@
|_ _|___| |__| | .` | _|\__ \ /_( \__/ )_\ Mike
|_| |____|_|_|\_|___|___/[Figlet] \__U_/ Jittlov
The lack of importance in relation to global warming, violence in society, and so on, can be the subject of heated arguments. To be brief, (almost) no-one will complain if your signature file is four lines long or fewer -- and it is quite possible to draw good ASCII pictures which are that small. _______________________________________________
(@) (@) `) There are a lot of web-pages on this with )
^ < > ^ ( google search ascii sig. _______)
=== `----Richard James-----------------'
Some e-mail/news programs don't allow you to have a signature file which is longer than four lines, while others just complain. Five or six lines may be acceptable, but any longer, and you're starting to take the risk that your signature will be longer than some of your e-mail messages; this wouldn't really make sense on paper, so it isn't really acceptable in cyberspace either. The exception is in messages posted to news:alt.ascii-art itself -- we're used to seeing long sigs, so we won't complain. -'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.-'*((,,.- But, no matter what the length of your signature, make sure it's fewer than 72 characters wide, otherwise it may end up a horrible mess (see Question 8). [18] What is ascii-animation?An animated image produced by a sequence of changing ASCII pictures. The speed will depend on the system you are using.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
o \ o / _ o __| \ / |__ o _ \ o / o
/|\ | /\ __\o \o | o/ o/__ /\ | /|\
/ \ / \ | \ /) | ( \ /o\ / ) | (\ / | / \ / \
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ascii-Animation transports vary a lot. The earliest known portable types used the Control-Codes of the (often .VT or .ANS) terminal screens for either `paging' or `direct cursor addressing'. Sometimes found as c-code in .sigs, which, when compiled and run produce moving patterns or images. -----------------------------------------------------------------
o _ _ _
_o /\_ _ \\o (_)\__/o (_)
_< \_ _>(_) (_)/<_ \_| \ _|/' \/
(_)>(_) (_) (_) (_) (_)' _\o_
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Most Web Ascii-Animation uses Java or Javascript. To find out how to animate ASCII art using JavaScript, see:- To find out how to animate ASCII art using Java, see:- [19] What does ObAscii mean?
ObAscii = Obligatory Ascii A funny way to remind people to put a drawing in their post. This means an ascii in every post! (especially off-topic threads) Failure to comply can result in flaming! This implies that if you don't include an ascii in your post you deserve to get flamed! ====================================================================
The concept of ObAscii has been around since the creation of the
usenet group news:alt.ascii-art and it's purpose is to provide some
on-topic content to an otherwise off-topic posting.
====================================================================
*NOT* The 1st ever! ObAscii :
====================================================================
From: Matthew Thomas
[20] The ASCII Art Rough-Guide to m$.Outlook?Microsoft's Outlook Express program has a number of flaws, including How to get rid of blue-lines in OE5:
How to stop Ms.Outlook giving wrapped output or the ascii-art you are sending is wider than 72 characters:
How to set your Outlook Express 6 to view ASCII art correctly:
How to set your Outlook Express 5 to view ASCII art correctly:
How to set your Outlook Express 4 to view ASCII art correctly:
NOTE : If LUCIDA CONSOLE is not available as a font, pick another from the list of available FIXED-WIDTH fonts. Examples of fixed-width fonts 1. ANDALE MONO
commonly available with ms.windows: 2. COURIER NEW
3. LUCIDA CONSOLE
4. LUCIDA SANS TYPEWRITER
5. OCR A EXTENDED
If you have followed the above steps correctly, you should now be able to view and create ASCII art as it should be. [21] Historacle: from the old-old FAQ v1.2 March 14, 1994What types of ascii-art are there?
[22] THE ASCII ART FAQ TEN COMMANDMENTS \\\\`///
/ _ _| 1. Thou shalt read the FAQ.
(\'('\/') 2. Thou shalt not remove the
______/( >(__ initials from any ASCII art.
/`- \ \_=__| `\ 3. Thou shalt not claim ownership
/ /__( _____\ _____ of someone else's ASCII art.
/_ \.____ ," "." ",__ 4. Thou shalt read the FAQ.
| / _\__/_ - / \ 5. Thou shalt ask permission
\/ /____ \ASCII ART FAQ /// before using someone else's
) / / \__\ - | ASCII art.
'-.__|_/ ///| I VI | 6. Thou shalt not sell someone
\_ | | | else's ASCII art.
| | II VII | 7. Thou shalt read the darn FAQ.
\ | | | 8. Thou shalt not post someone
/ | III VIII | else's ASCII art without making
\ | | | clear that you didn't make it.
\_ | IV IX | 9. Thou shalt not assume that
\| | | ASCII art isn't art at all.
| V X | 10. Thou shalt read the FAQing FAQ.
|______b'ger______|
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