═══ 1. Index ═══ POV-Panel 1.0 Help Index POV-Panel is a graphical interface for POV-Ray 2.0 This help file explains the operation of POV-Panel. The following topics are available: Introduction Options Help Menu Help External Programs History Registration and Author Information Tab to the topic of interest and press , or double-click with the mouse. ═══ 2. Introduction ═══ Introduction POV-Panel is intended to help anyone who is not overly fond of typing out the thirty or so command-line arguments to the POV-Ray compiler. I don't mean to criticize POV-Ray here, only to note that with a product as complex as POV-Ray, POV-Panel comes in very handy. POV-Panel was developed for POV-Ray 2.0 and any derivatives thereof, specifically OS/2 versions. POV-Panel will not be ported to any other platforms. This is both because it was written in VX-REXX 2.0 which is not available on any other platform, and also because I love OS/2, and have had it up to here with most other PC "operating systems" (with the exception of Linux). You can edit your scripts and compile from POV-Panel, or if you prefer a different editor, then you can set that up too, and hide the built-in editor. All options supported on the OS/2 platform are available, which is to say that there is no display-as-you-compile or press-a-key-when-done. You can also hook up an output image viewer to POV-Panel. If anyone has any wishes or comments, please mail me. Also, please register. It is only $10. Here is a link to my personal info. You don't need to register to make a comment, though, but if I add something you asked for, then I think you should probably register. POV-Panel isn't nag-ware in any way, however. It may become so in future version, if few people register. ═══ 3. Options Help ═══ Options Help As you look at POV-Panel, you will notice that there are several group-boxes, divided into "options". Help is available for the following options: Image Options File Options Various Options Execution Options POV Script ═══ 3.1. Image Options ═══ Image Options The Image Options look like this: These options control the image size, trace portion, anti-aliasing, jitter, bounding slabs, and quality of the final image. The overall final output image size is determined by the "Width" (x) and "Height" (y) boxes. They are in pixels. If you are continuing a trace, or only want to go to a certain point, enable the "Trace Only Image Portion" check-box, and then set the relevant area in the "X:" (from x), "to" (to x), "Y:" (from y), and "to" (to y) boxes. These are in pixels. Anti-aliasing gives a higher-quality image, but takes longer, and is usually only enabled for the final image, or for fine detail pre-viewing. Anti-aliasing is enabled with the "Enable" check-box in the "Anti-Aliasing" group-box. The "Tolerance" and "Rays" values are for fine control (see POV-Ray manual), but usually work well at their default settings. Enabling jitter is on by default, which also improves the quality, but is dependent on anti-aliasing being on (see manual). Bounding slabs speeds up compilation without decreasing quality, and I am not sure why the POV-Team allows it to be turned off, but if they do, I do. You can set what the threshold is, however. If there are less objects than this number, bounding slabs may not be faster, and so is disabled. The "Quality" slider bar decides which of POV-Ray's options get used in the compilation. Setting this to 9 gives maximum quality, while 1 gives only a rough black-and-white sketch with no shadows. See the manual for more details. ═══ 3.2. File Options ═══ File Options The "File Options" determine the output format, and the output filename (if relevant). Choose your desired format by clicking on the corresponding radio-button. The filename extension is automatically set, so do not include this in the filename. ═══ 3.3. Various Options ═══ Various Options These options are the ones that probably won't be changed too often, and that really didn't fit in all that nicely with the rest. They are more obscure than the rest, and probably most people set them and leave them. In a future version, if I run out of room on the screen, I may move these options to the Settings notebook. "POV Compatibility" sets the language level. This enables error-free compilation of POV-Ray 1.x scripts with POV-Ray 2.x. "Symbol Table Size" sets the number of symbols allowed. This is usually used to conserve memory during compilation on memory-constrained systems (DOS). "Buffer Size" is similar to "Symbol Table Size", and conserves memory when necessary. These two options can usually just be left. "Verbose" toggles the compilation message level between high and low. I have had trouble getting "Allow Trace Interruption" to work properly, but that is in the implementation of POV-Ray, not in POV-Panel. When it works, it saves the picture when a button is pressed, to allow stopping a compilation without losing the work to date (usually to allow sleep). This slows down the compile, so use only when necessary. "Continue Trace" allows you to resume a previously started picture. Use the "Animation Clock" to set a clock value for animating a series of pictures. ═══ 3.4. Execution Options ═══ Quick Options You can switch the Trace Button between compiling and just displaying the POV-Ray command. This can be useful for beginners who would like to learn more, and want to see what they are doing, but also for more experienced users who want to know exactly what they are doing. In this mode, pressing the button displays the command rather than executing it. ═══ 3.5. POV Script ═══ Built-In Editor This is the built-in editor. It is a fairly mundane implementation of an MLE, but is sufficiently nice for most work. ═══ 4. Menu Help ═══ Menu Help Help for the following menus follows: File Utilities Options Help ═══ 4.1. File ═══ File The "File" menu consists of the following items: New Open... Save Save as... Exit These are fairly self-explanatory. Various menu options become disabled when using an external editor. You will be prompted to save unsaved work if you attempt an action which would lose changes if performed unconditionally. ═══ 4.2. Utilities ═══ Utilities The "Utilities" menu consists of the following items: Editor Image viewer Moray The "Editor" item becomes enabled when the built-in editor is disabled. It launches a copy of the editor. The "Image Viewer" item launches your favorite image viewer with the current image in it. This has to be in TARGA format, as I haven't seen any editors that allow for viewing other POV_Ray supported formats. If this is inconvenient, mail me with details, and I'll see what I can do. "Moray" launches Moray for you. It currently does nothing else. ═══ 4.3. Options ═══ Options The "Options" menu consists of the following items: File paths Preferences Save options "File paths" brings up the notebook for the path settings. It contains the following pages: POV-Ray Paths Util Paths Other Paths Lib Paths 1 and 2 "Preferences" has two items: Pause CMD before exit Use built-in editor "Pause CMD before exit" leaves the CMD window paused when the compilation is complete. This is mainly useful if you keep working in the foreground, and want to see what happened in the CMD window before it disappears. Unchecking this is handy for starting 50 compiles, and then going to work. That frees up some resources as each session finishes. "Use built-in editor" enables and disables the MLE editor. "Save options" saves all modified settings to the INI file immediately, instead of waiting until application is closed. ═══ 4.3.1. POV-Ray Paths ═══ POV-Ray Paths This option brings up the POV-Ray Paths settings: Set the "POV_Ray EXE Path" to wherever you keep POV-Ray with the "Find" button. This speeds up the compilations as the path doesn't have to be traversed. This also allows you to rename the executable for whatever reason. The "POV-Ray Manual Path" allows POV-Panel to find the manual for the item on the Help menu. ═══ 4.3.2. Util Paths ═══ Util Paths After POV-Ray Paths is the Util Paths settings page: Set the Moray path, the path of the program you use for viewing the output, and the path of your external editor here, respectively. ═══ 4.3.3. Other Paths ═══ Other Paths The third page is the Other Paths settings page: Set this to the path of the program you wish to use to view the manual. Through judicious use of this setting and the manual path, you should be able to accomodate almost any combination of viewers and file formats, in case you want to convert the text file to INF, or whatever. ═══ 4.3.4. Lib Paths 1 and 2 ═══ Lib Paths 1 and 2 These screens are used to set up the ten! library paths that POV-Ray lets you have (does anyone use ten paths ?). They look like the following: ═══ 4.4. Help ═══ Help The "Help" menu consists of the following items: Help index POV-Ray manual Product information ═══ 4.4.1. Help Index ═══ Help Index You might be familiar with this item, as it brings you to the beginning of this very box :) This is a useful starting point when you don't know what you are looking for yet. ═══ 4.4.2. POV-Ray manual ═══ POV-Ray manual This will look like whatever you have it set up as. I personally have it set up as EPM with povray.doc, and it looks as follows: Whatever program you have running here is beyond my control, and pretty much independent to do what it wants. ═══ 4.4.3. Product information ═══ Product information The obligatory about box. This little about box tells you about the version, who wrote it :) and when. If you click on the logo, you will get more detailed version information. This may be useful to check when corresponding with me about bugs (who, me?) and so on. ═══ 5. External Programs ═══ External Programs The following external programs can be hooked up to POV-Panel: POV-Ray POV-Ray Manual Viewer External Editor Output Image Viewer Moray ═══ 5.1. POV-Ray ═══ POV-Ray You pretty much have to set this one up :) When you press "Start Ray Trace Now", you will get a screen something like this: ═══ 5.2. POV-Ray Manual Viewer ═══ POV-Ray Manual Viewer When you have the Paths properly configured, you can press "POV-Ray Manual" on the Help menu and read the POV-Ray manual. On my computer it looks like this: ═══ 5.3. External Editor ═══ External Editor If you prefer using a different editor than the built-in one, then you can use any editor of your choice. Just add the path to the Path setings, and disable the internal editor. Then when you press "File", "Use..." you get a screen something like this: ═══ 5.4. Output Image Viewer ═══ Output Image Viewer You can also hook up a picture viewer, and pressing "Image viewer" will get you something like this: ═══ 5.5. Moray ═══ Moray I don't use DOS any more, so no picture here. When this is set up, it just launches Moray from the command-line, with whatever options you put in the path setting box. ═══ 6. POV-Panel History ═══ POV-Panel History 1.0 POV-Panel 1.0 was originally developed in only 3 days, while studying for exams (ah, such is the human mind). I came across a similar product, but was dissatisfied with it, and hence POV-Panel was born. It has since been polished, and cost me a fortune in midnight oil. Plug: I must say that I am extremely impressed with Watcom VX-REXX 2.0b! It is very easy and powerful, and I didn't encounter any problems I couldn't work my way around. That is high praise indeed for such a new product. Just about the only thing I could wish for is a bit more speed. Highly Recommended. The people at Watcom were very helpful in listening to my problems, and making suggestions. Special thanks go to Eric Guiguere and Paul Prescod for helping out with a couple of tricky areas. They can be found rummaging around comp.lang.rexx on the Internet. By the way, I have no association with Watcom, apart from loving their products. ═══ 7. About The Author... ═══ Carsten Whimster Carsten is an undergraduate Computer Science student at the University of Waterloo, and an huge OS/2 enthusiast as of OS/2 2.0. He is currently in his third year, taking operating system, language, and compiler courses whenever possible. This summer and fall he is working at the University of Waterloo as a tutor (course assistant) for CS241, an introductory course to compilers. He is also a TEAM-OS/2 member. Carsten is a beginning OS/2 PM programmer with a few projects on the go, and many more in his head. He uses Watcom C/C++ 10.0, Watcom VX-REXX 2.0b, and occasionally emx08h with gcc 2.5.7. Carsten is the associate editor for EDM/2, which is why he is familiar enough with IPFC to go to all the trouble of making a decent help-facility for such a small program. EDM/2 is a free programmer's newsletter for OS/2 developers, and can be found (among other places) at ftp-os2.cdrom.com in pub/os2/2_x/program/newsltr. You may reach Carsten... ...via email: bcrwhims@uwaterloo.ca - Internet gopher://descartes.math.uwaterloo.ca:70/h0/mathSOC/.csc/.www/.bcrwhimster/homepage.html - Mosaic homepage To register, send money ($10 US or CAN) and directions on how to contact you to: Carsten Whimster 318 Spruce Street, main house Waterloo, Ontario Canada ═══ ═══ POV-Ray 2.0 for OS/2 can be found at ftp-os2.cdrom.com in the pub/os2/2_x/graphics. The Persistence of Vision RayTracer is copyrighted by the POV-Team.