FractalViewer v1.0

FractalViewer generates images of fractals.  When the program
is first run, it shows the Mandelbrot set.  It can be set to
show a variety of other fractals from the Fractals panel.


Features

* Shows fractals based on Mandelbrot and Julia sets, plus higher
order fractals
* Generates high quality, anti-aliased images
* Automatic palette generation in a number of user controlled styles
* User control over palette size
* Images updated interactively in progressive mode
* Easy control of view shown, by dragging a view rectangle
* Fractal images can be exported and saved as JPG files


Requirements

* Windows 95/98/Me, or
* Windows NT 4.0, or
* Windows 2000, or
* Windows XP, or later.


Quick guide

When FractalViewer first starts, it shows the Mandelbrot set.  You
can zoom in by dragging a rectangle over part of the image.  You can
also change the view, along with parameters that control the fractal
being generated, on the Fractals panel.  This can be brought up
using the View/Fractals... menu command, or by pressing the F2
shortcut key.

By default, FractalViewer generates the image progressively.  While
this isn't the quickest way to generate the image, it does mean the
display is regularly updated, and you can watch while the image is
created.  For faster image generation, but without being able to
watch the image being created, uncheck the Progressive display box
on the Options panel.  The Options panel can be brought up using the
View/Options... menu command.

Also on the Options panel is the level of anti-aliasing applied, and
the size of the palette.  The default palette size of 256 is fine at
large scales, but as you zoom in you will find you need to increase
the palette size to get a good image.  If you start to see smooth
curves around the outline of the fractal, this is a sign that the
palette is too small.  The palette size also determines the maximum
number of iterations that are tried when calculating the fractal.


Copyright 2002 Mark Williams, all rights reserved.
Contact: mark@extrabit.com
http://www.extrabit.com

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

FractalViewer v1.0, released 21st July 2002