Attention to detail is the hallmark of good programming, and would-be programmers would do well to look at Image published by Cambridge University Press as part of the (now concluded) "Micro-electronics in Education Programme". This comprehensive colour-graphics package stretches the Beeb's capabilities in this direction to the 1limit. The manual is written with admirable clarity and, thanks to the MEP subsidy, is printed in full colour wherever needed. The colour is of particular importance when it comes to dealing with three-colour theory, and underlies the strengths of the programs and manuals as educational aids for physics or art, rather than just as entertainment.

An example of the care taken in preparation and presentation is that control can be from an AMX Mouse, joysticks, tracker balls and a variety of touch pads and graphics tablets. A colour monitor is clearly better than a domestic TV. The *SYSTEM program comes ready configured, but by cycling through menus it can be reconfigured for new control, input and output selection. The new parameters write themselves to disc so that it will !BOOT in that configuration until such time as it is reconfigured.

The only ambiguity I found in the manual was in this start up procedure. Otherwise, the manual's claim that Image can be used by someone with no previous computer experience seems justified, and in particular, load and save operations are particularly well 'error-trapped'. I was very grateful for it when for no apparent reason the program crashed, but I was able to pick it up from the last save.

Partly as a result of the 'error-trapping' and partly due to the many overlay programs needed because of memory limitations on the Beeb, the program does often seem slow. The use of overlays does not cause the main program to lose track of pre-set parameters - for instance, if you choose to save a picture on one of the pages of the 'sketch book', not only is your original picture still on the screen, if you go back to the main program, but the functions such as nibs and colours are reset to where you left off.

As one of that large minority who are left-handed, my expectations were certainly raised by finding that the package contained an overlay for a Concept Keyboard, laid out for the majority on one side, and for me on the reverse! Oddly enough, I am now so used to right-handed keyboards that I doubt if one with numeric or cursor controls on the left would be any easier. I used an AMX mouse with Image, alternating with the keyboard, but I suspect that the ideal combination would be a Grafpad as I find that a mouse tends to be rather inaccurate (lacking positive control of co-ordinates), and while the cursor keys are perfect for drawing straight lines and small, precise movements, they are difficult to use for 'freehand' drawing. Control of movement on-screen is automatically passed back from the mouse or other device to the cursor keys simply by pressing the cursor-right key.

Many of the functions in Image are similar to those found in paint programs, such as Beebugsoft's Paintmaster, but the program's ability to create arcs between two points or draw 'rays' are better than any I have seen before on an 8-bit micro. Most of the functions are accessed by placing the cursor over a series of letters down the left hand edge of the screen and clicking the mouse to reveal a pop-up menu. These, too, can be clicked to activate a particular size of nib, or type of line, with the current choice shown on a status line. On the other side of the screen a wide range of colour functions are available, and pop-up menus can also be used to select lettering, which can be in a wide range of sizes in Roman or Italic, and rotated in 99 degree steps.

If you make a mistake (even in lettering, where positioning is rather difficult to gauge), the situation can usually be rectified by using the 'fill' function to change the incorrect part to the background colour. This perhaps shows up one shortcoming of the system. If, for example, a red area adjoins a blue area, either colour can be changed to any other. However, if you change any colour to the same as its neighbour, the boundary is no longer retained and from then on they cannot be manipulated separately.

The 'sketch book' allows from 5 (40 track, single-sided) to 24 (80 track, double sided) pictures to be stored on a disc, and these can be recovered at will. Additional features allow them to be changed automatically at variable intervals to provide a slide show or animation, and using the extremely flexible colour-change facilities, pseudo-animations are also possible within a single frame.

The effect of cycling through the colours, either changing each colour to its opposite or its next logical colour has to be seen to be believed. As well as the standard save routine, screen dumps from other programs can be loaded, or Image graphics saved, from &3000 to &7D80 in mode 2, for instance to use as program titles.

The chief use of Image would appear to be by those who need to create sophisticated Beeb graphics in colour, (though few will be able to afford a colour printer to enjoy the effects on paper), in teaching of colour theory and appreciation, and even in generating colour separations for conventional printing. Image is a thoroughly professional and robust software package that has much to offer all those interested in colour graphics on the Beeb. It compares very well for quality with the likes of Tesselator and Graphito, reviewed last year in Beebug Vol. 4 No. 2, though the relatively high price of Image may dissuade some.