An image conversion tool for macOS, Windows and Linux. Take modern image formats (PNG, JPEG, BMP, etc) and convert them for use in your Apple II programs or just for fun. Supports classic Apple ][ display modes (LGR, DLGR, HGR, DHGR) as well as Apple IIgs Super Hi-Res (SHR).
The fastest way to get started is to go here https://apple2.gs/buckshot where you can download the latest builds for macOS, Windows and Linux.
Download and open the DMG file. Drag buckshot into your Applications folder and launch it from there.
Because buckshot isn't signed/notarized with Apple, modern macOS will block it on first launch. The old "right-click -> Open" trick no longer works on current macOS versions. Instead:
- Double-click buckshot. macOS will refuse to open it — dismiss the dialog (click "Done", not "Move to Trash").
- Open System Settings -> Privacy & Security, scroll down to the Security section, and next to the message about buckshot being blocked click "Open Anyway".
- Confirm in the dialog that appears (you may need to authenticate). This only needs to be done once.
Alternatively, from Terminal you can remove the quarantine flag directly:
xattr -cr /Applications/buckshot.app
Download and unzip to the folder where you want it installed, then run buckshot.exe from there.
Because buckshot isn't code-signed, modern Windows will warn you on first launch:
- If SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC", click "More info" and then "Run anyway".
- If you don't see a "More info" link, unblock the file first: right-click
buckshot.exe(or the downloaded ZIP before extracting) -> Properties -> check "Unblock" at the bottom of the General tab -> OK, then run it again.
Download and unzip and run AppRun. If you have problems see the README file.
Once you start the program, just "Open Source Image", select the "Apple ][ Display Mode" you want to convert your image to, and click "Preview", or even better, click the "Live Preview" checkbox to get real-time feedback on your conversion settings. Display modes cover the classic Apple ][ formats (LGR, DLGR, HGR, DHGR — including monochrome variants) as well as Apple IIgs Super Hi-Res (SHR) with dithering and fit/aspect options. Once you are satisfied with your conversion settings, click "Save Image File" to save in one of the Apple ][ image formats based on the display mode. If you want to save that image file directly to a ProDOS volume, that is now supported via the "Save To ProDOS" function! Then you can load it up in your favorite emulator, or transfer it to real disks/flash storage to view on glorious vintage hardware.
This project is written in C++ using the Qt 6 framework. It calls out to three external binaries: b2d for classic Apple ][ image conversion, image2shr for Apple IIgs SHR conversion, and CADIUS for ProDOS volume support.
You can build and run the project without them, but it won't be able to generate previews or save to ProDOS volumes without those 3rd-party binaries. The authors of those projects are not involved with this project, but have graciously encouraged my integration attempts with this software.
I maintain public builds of these utilities for all supported operating systems available here:
- https://github.com/digarok/cadius/releases/
- https://github.com/digarok/b2d/releases/
- https://github.com/digarok/image2shr/releases/
You will need to copy the binaries of those programs for your platform into the build directory you are running.
Example for a macOS "Release" build:
cp ../b2d ../Cadius ../image2shr build/Desktop-Release/buckshot.app/Contents/MacOS/
In this example I obviously have the files stored in a parent directory outside of the project folder.
The binaries for those can also just be pulled out of existing downloads available on the release page.
This was largely built as a proof-of-concept, and I tried to put it together quite quickly (the original version was over the course of about a week or two.) I would never suggest that this is ididiomatic C++ code or Qt code. I am very results oriented and wrote a lot of this quite procedurally, as I went along adding all my planned features. Please feel free to fork it and make fixes, clean it up, add in other converters, etc. I probably won't have much time to tinker with this one from here on out, as I have most of the features I need for my own usage at this point.
I cannot begin to express my gratitude to the excellent programmers who authored the tools doing the heavy lifting under-the-hood of buckshot.
Thanks to Bill Buckels, whose seminal work in image conversion routines has long inspired me to improve my own IIgs conversion routines.
Thanks to Brutal Deluxe, whose tools not only speed up my entire Apple II development pipeline, but also provides the ProDOS image support here.