Cream of the Crop 22/Cream of the Crop 22.iso/os2/nvsn.zip/NVSN.HLP

OS/2 Help File | 1996-10-20 | 16KB | 426 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. General help for Night Vision ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Welcome to Night Vision, a "planetarium" program for OS/2.

Night Vision opens with a view of the heavens looking straight up from the
user's preferred location.  (Or, until a preferred location has been selected,
a default location of Niwot, Colorado, the author's favorite small town.)

Two scroll bars control the direction of view:

   Moving the vertical scroll bar (right side of window) controls the altitude,
   or the angle from the horizon to the center of the view (center of window).
   With the scroll at the top the view is straight up.  With the scroll at the
   bottom the view is along the horizon.  Brown tinting will indicate where the
   earth blocks the view.  (This horizon indication can be turned off.)

   Moving the horizontal scroll bar (bottom of window) controls the azimuth, or
   direction along the horizon.  With the scroll in the center, the view
   towards the horizon is to the south.  Moving the scroll to the right moves
   the view to the west, then the north.  Moving the scroll to the left moves
   the view to the east, then the north.  Thus north can be achieved by moving
   the scroll either to the far right or the far left.

   Altitude and azimuth are indicated in the information window at the top.
   Interpret altitude as follows:

   Alt                 View
   0                   Along the horizon
   90                  Straight up (zenith)

   Interpret azimuth as follows:

   Az                  View
   0 and 360           North
   90                  East
   180                 South
   270                 West

 Magnification is controlled as follows:

   Pressing 'z' will "zoom in" to magnify the view.

   Pressing 'Z' will "zoom out" to de-magnify the view.  By pressing 'Z' and/or
   enlarging the window an entire 180┬░ view can be seen. (I.e. 90┬░ in all
   directions from center of window.)

   'CapsLock' must be off for 'z' and 'Z' to work.

 Explore these and other options and enjoy the view of Night Vision!


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.1. Help for save location ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this selection to save your current location. Future program startups will
begin at this location.

Location data includes whether or not daylight savings time is in effect.
(Daylight savings time is set via the "Location" window or the "Set local
date/time" window.)


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2. Help for save preferences ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this selection to save your current preferences. Future program startups
will begin with these preferences.

Preferences include:

     Current viewed objects

     Current selected font

     Current star parameters

     Current window size and position


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3. Help for close ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this selection to exit Night Vision. A window will pop up to verify this
selection.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.4. Help for set location ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this selection to set viewing location. Any city in the city database, or
any longitude/latitude coordinates, can be selected. (The city database can be
altered to user's preferences.)


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.5. Help for set font ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this selection to set the font. This font will be used for all text in the
main window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.6. Help for set stars ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this selection to set star parameters, such as limiting magnitude and star
size.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.7. Help for select objects ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this selection to select objects to view, such as planets and deep sky
objects.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.8. Help for zoom in ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this selection to zoom in.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.9. Help for zoom out ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this selection to zoom out.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.10. Help for set date/time selection ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this selection to set the date and time to any point from 1900 through
2099.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.11. Help for freeze selection ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this selection to freeze time (i.e. time does not progress).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.12. Help for thaw selection ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this selection to thaw time (i.e. allow time to progress).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.13. Help for set time rates ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this selection to set display update interval and time speed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Setting up Night Vision ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Night Vision can be set up for any location.  Begin by going to the "Location"
window (via the "Set" pull down menu).  Select the city closest to your
location, select/deselect "Daylight savings time", and press "OK City". Or
enter your longitude, latitude, and time zone, select/deselect "Daylight
savings time", and press "OK Coordinates". If your new location is in a
different time zone, then your local time (as displayed in the information line
above the star window) will have changed, and you must reset the time. To do
so, go to the "Set local date/time" window (via the "Time" pull down menu), and
then press "Set to computer date/time". You are now re-sync'd to your computer
time.

Be sure to save this location information if you would like Night Vision to
always start at this position.  Go to the "File" pull down menu and select
"Save location".

You may also save your viewing preferences (objects, font, and star parameters)
by selecting "Save preferences" from the "File" pull down menu.

Note:  The city database used in the "Location" window may be edited to suit
the user's preferences. Follow the directions at the top of NVSN.CTY.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Help for Location window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This window is used to select a location anywhere on earth, either by selecting
a city in the city list box, or by directly entering the longitude and latitude
of the desired location.

The cities shown are the cities listed in the city database:  NVSN.CTY
This database may be edited to suit the user's preferences. Follow the
directions at the top of NVSN.CTY.

Longitude is entered as sddd:mm where s is the sign (+, -, or blank), ddd are
degrees ranging from 0 to 180, and mm are minutes ranging from 0 to 59.
Longitude is negative for locations west of 0┬░.

Latitude is entered as sdd:mm where s is the sign (+, -, or blank), dd are
degrees ranging from 0 to 90, and mm are minutes ranging from 0 to 59.
Latitude is negative for locations south of the equator.

Time zone is entered as shh:mm where s is the sign (+, -, or blank), hh are
hours ranging from 0 to 12, and mm are minutes ranging from 0 to 59.  Time zone
is negative for zones west of Greenwich, England, and represent the time
difference between the location and Greenwich.

Note:  Changing the location will change the time indicated in the information
line above the main star window if the new time zone differs from current time
zone.  This allows the user to hop from location to location while maintaining
the same time in the first location.  For example, hopping from Denver to
Dallas changes the time from say 1:00 to 2:00, because the time in Dallas is
2:00 when the time in Denver is 1:00.

Select or deselect "Daylight savings time" depending on whether it is in effect
for this location.  (1 hour will be subtracted from the indicated time if
selected.)  Daylight savings time can also be set via the "Set local date/time"
window.

Use tab, space bar, and arrow keys to control without a mouse.

Press "OK City" to accept a city location.
Press "OK Coordinates" to accept a location via the longitude and latitude
coordinates with the specified time zone.
Pressing "Cancel" (or Esc) rejects any changes.

Use the "Save location" selection from the "File" pull down menu to save the
current location so that Night Vision begins there when starting. "Save
location" also saves whether or not daylight savings time is in effect.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Help for Set font window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This window is used to set the font for all text appearing in the main star
window.

"Name", "Style", and "Size" are drop-down listboxes whose contents may be
displayed by clicking on the down arrow on the right of the box. The contents
are also displayed (and removed) by pressing 'Alt-down arrow'.

Use tab, space bar, and arrow keys to control without a mouse.

Pressing "OK" accepts new values.
Pressing "Reset" resets any changes to window.
Pressing "Cancel" (or Esc) rejects any changes.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Help for Set star parameters window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This window is used to control how different magnitude stars are to appear.
Magnitude (a.k.a. relative magnitude) refers to how bright a star appears.
This is an inverse relationship:  the higher the magnitude, the dimmer the
star. Very bright stars have magnitudes of less than zero.

The "Limiting magnitude" spin button controls how bright a star must be before
it can be displayed.  It can be set from 2.0 to 7.0 (dimmest).

The two sliders control what size dot is used to represent the brightest and
dimmest stars. The "Dimmest" slider refers to stars having a magnitude
indicated by the value on the "Limiting magnitude" spin button.

Use tab and arrow keys to control without a mouse.

Pressing "OK" accepts new values.
Pressing "Cancel" (or Esc) rejects any changes.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Help for Select objects window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This window is used to set which objects and options to display.

"Deep sky" refers to objects outside the solar system, such as galaxies,
nebulas, and star clusters.

Constellation names can either be full length, or a 3 character abbreviation.

"Celestial grid" refers to a grid of celestial longitude and latitude, which
astronomers term as right ascension and declination, respectively. This option
also displays the ecliptic, which is the path the sun follows through the
heavens.

"Horizon" refers to a brown tinting that is used to represent that part of the
view that is blocked by the earth.

Use tab, space bar, and arrow keys to control without a mouse.

Pressing "OK" accepts new values.
Pressing "Cancel" (or Esc) rejects any changes.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Help for Set local date/time window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This window is used to set the date and time to any point from 1900 to 2099.

Use the mouse to select the month, day, year, hour, and minute, then activate
the corresponding arrow keys to set to the desired value. Click on "AM", "PM",
and "Daylight savings time" as desired.

Control without the mouse is achieved with the tab, arrow, and space bar keys.

Pressing "OK" accepts the new date and time. Pressing "Set to computer
date/time" immediately sets the local date/time to the computer date/time.
Pressing "Cancel" (or Esc) rejects any changes.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Help for Set time rates window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This window is used to set the display update interval and the time speed.

The display update interval is the amount of time Night Vision waits before
updating the display.  For example, setting to 1 minute will update the display
every minute.  Use longer intervals for slower computers that take a lot of
time to update (or specify less stars to display with the "Set star parameters"
window).

The time speed is the rate at which Night Vision advances time relative to the
computer.  Set to "1X" for normal operation.  To watch time move backward, set
to "-1X".  Set to "1440X" to watch a day pass within a minute.  Note:  Time
must not be "frozen" (see Time pull down menu) for time to proceed.

Use tab and arrow keys to control without a mouse.

Pressing "OK" accepts new values.
Pressing "Cancel" (or Esc) rejects any changes.

Only the update interval can be saved in user preferences.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Keys Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The following keys are active in the main star window:

 Key                 Function
 F3                  Ends program
 z                   Zoom in
 Z                   Zoom out
 Up arrow            Shift altitude up 1┬░
 Down arrow          Shift altitude down 1┬░
 Right arrow         Shift azimuth right 1┬░
 Left arrow          Shift azimuth left 1┬░
 Page Up             Shift altitude up 15┬░
 Page Down           Shift altitude down 15┬░
 Ctrl-Up arrow       Shift altitude up 15┬░
 Ctrl-Down arrow     Shift altitude down 15┬░
 Ctrl-Right arrow    Shift azimuth right 15┬░
 Ctrl-Left arrow     Shift azimuth left 15┬░

 'z' and 'Z' require that 'CapsLock' be off.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. Editing the city database ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The city database, NVSN.CTY, contains all cities listed in the city listbox in
the Location window.  It can be edited to suit user's preferences.

To edit, use a standard text editor.  Do not use a word processor unless it can
save to a standard ASCII file.

Maximum number of cities is 100.

Blank lines and lines beginning with "#" are ignored. All other lines must have
blanks at columns 26, 34, and 41, have no tabs, and contain the following
information in the specified columns:

      Columns  1-25:  City name
      Columns 27-33:  Longitude
      Columns 35-40:  Latitude
      Columns 42-47:  Time zone

 For example:

  #-------- City name -----|--Long-|--Lat-|--TZ--|-Ignored-
  Niwot, Colorado           -105:10  40:06  -7:00

 Refer to the "Help for Location window" panel for proper values for Long, Lat,
 and TZ.

 Cities will be listed in the Location window city listbox in the same order as
 they appear in this file.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. List of files ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Night Vision contains the following files:

 File           Description

 NVSN.EXE       The executable (program file) for Night Vision

 NVSN.HLP       The help file

 NVSN.DB        Sky database

 NVSN.CTY       City database - May be modified, but please distribute only the
                original

 NVSN.DOC       Documentation

 INSTALL.CMD    Installs program object onto desktop

 NVSN.INI       Initialization file - Created by program - Should not be
                distributed with other files


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 12. Registration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Night Vision is shareware.

It may be freely copied and distributed provided that the program in all of its
components (program file, help file, database files, install file, and
documentation) are kept together and all remain unmodified.

Considerable effort has gone into the making of this program.  If you find it
useful please register by contributing $15 to:

   Brian Simpson
  P.O. Box 773
  Niwot, CO.  80544


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 13. Future updates ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Night Vision will be updated in the future.  Future updates may include:

     Printing

     Precession

     Star identification

     User selectable colors

     User selectable fonts per object

     User modifiable information line

     Constellation boundaries

     Altitude/Azimuth grid

     Labels for grids

     Comets

     ...