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MainMenu
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1996-10-13
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________________________________________________________________________
/ \
| !Fractal v1.11: General Fractal Plotter |
| September 1996 |
| Main Menu And Panel Documentation |
\________________________________________________________________________/
Tools
=====
The tools pane provides quick access to many functions. For full details see
the corresponding function in the Menu section. The various tools are, in
descending order:
Zoom: click with Select to zoom in, Adjust to zoom out. Repeat the click to
cancel the zoom. See Image->Zoom for full details.
Mandelbrot: click on this to redraw an image after you have changed
parameters or function. The icon is displayed in reverse when plotting is
active. To stop a plot click on the icon again (after clicking Adjust to
return to desktop mode). See Image->Redraw for full details.
Wheel: enters colour cycling mode. Press menu to exit, or use the Select
button to pause. Move the mouse up/down to change speed and direction
(requires a graphics card). See Effects->Cycle for full details.
Numbers: opens the data entry panel for the current function.
Palettes: 20 different display palettes can be chosen. These do not change
the image itself, merely the way it is shown on-screen. Use Adjust to select
the alternate palette for each icon. Double click to set the screen palette
as well (requires graphics enhancer or RiscPC). See Palette->Presets for
details.
Palette Shift (striped colours): Use Select to increment the colour by 1
(small stripes) or 8 (large stripes), and Adjust to decrement by 1 or 8. To
reset the shift, click on a display palette. See Palette->Shift for details.
Rotation: shows the current rotation viewing angle with two icons to adjust
the viewpoint. This icon is used directly by the 3d drawing functions (such
as Lorenz) and image manipulators (such as 3d_View). You can also use this
tool at any time to rotate the current image on display - simply
double-click on the Rotation icon itself. Some clipping of the image is
inevitable and repeated rotation will result in the loss of image quality.
Also see Effects->Rotate.
Rotation Arrows: Clicking with Select steps by 15 degrees, whilst Adjust
steps in 5 degrees. Keeping the button pressed will continuously move the
viewpoint. The left-hand adjust icon rotates clockwise, the right-hand icon
moves anti-clockwise. The new angle takes effect when you redraw the image.
Elevation: shows the current elevation viewing angle, as used by the 3d
functions. Use Select and Adjust as with the Rotate icons, stepping by 15 or
5 degrees respectively. The new angle takes effect when you redraw the
image. Some functions limit the elevation range.
----------------------------------------------------------
Menus
=====
The icon bar menu shows the program Info window, access to the Help files
and the Quit option. The main menu is available from any !Fractal window.
Pressing Adjust instead of Select will keep the menu open.
The Main Menu
----------------
The menu options are available from the desktop or full screen window. When
performing a multi-tasking plot the only menu option available is to stop
the plot to prevent options being changed whilst being used, or to revert to
full Desktop mode. Menu items are:
fractal: The currently selected fractal name appears as a menu selection.
Some fractal functions offer their own menu selection. Refer to the help
application !Functions or !L-Systems for details.
----------------------------------------------
FUNCTION: Selects the Fractal function to be used. Reloading a saved sprite
or GIF file automatically sets the function to that which created the
sprite. When switching back to a function, the function variables will be
the same as previously, allowing you to switch between functions without
losing your position.
----------------------------------------------
IMAGE: Controls the factors used to create the image such as the variables.
The image is held internally as a sprite which can be saved in AFG2 format.
Image->Zoom->Zoom In
Image->Zoom->Zoom Out
The default is Zoom In if you click on Zoom.
Activates the zoom box and re-plotting process where supported by the
fractal function. Moving the mouse moves the box, even beyond the edge of
the image. The mouse buttons have the following effect:
Left: Zoom box in fast. Shift+Left: Zoom box in slowly.
Middle: Start zoom
Right: Zoom box out slowly. Shift+Right: Zoom box out slowly.
When zooming out the box represents the current image size. The information
window at the top of the screen shows the bottom left x & y values and the
width and height, as used by the Fractal function. A cross hair replaces the
standard pointer except when the zoom box is small when the pointer is
turned off.
On pressing Menu the new display will be drawn in dedicated mode (which is
the fastest) until you press Adjust, at which time desktop mode is
re-entered. The plotting will continue in the background and the screen will
not be automatically updated (this may be added at a later date).
To see the state of the display when in background mode click on one of the
display palettes. When you are in desktop mode a time counter shows the
progress on the icon bar.
Background plotting allows you to carry on using other desktop applications,
though you will notice some reduction in speed (Nb. entering commands such
as *BASIC will halt all desktop operations!). Background plotting will take
much longer.
Image->Redraw: causes the image to be re-generated using the current data
variables. Same as clicking on the Mandelbrot tool icon.
Image->Redraw->Clear: Clears the image on redraw when on. Turn off to allow
composite images. This works well with Faults or L-Systems.
Image->Shift Clrs: Leads to a submenu of colour changes. This allows the
image colours to be permanently shifted up or down as required, by adding
the value to the physical colour number of each pixel.
Image->Save->Image+Data & Image Only
Provides 2 standard panels for saving the current image. Saving with data
saves the image and associated fractal data, allowing the image to be
reloaded (by dragging onto !Fractal) and plotting continued. The standard
sprite just contains the image and takes less space when saving 3d
transformed shapes (eg Render) since the source image is not saved. In both
cases the sprite is saved with the current 256 colour palette which will be
understood by RiscOS 3.1 compliant applications (eg. Paint).
Image->Save->GIF Format
When on saves the image in GIF format. This saves disk space but takes
longer to save. GIF files may be viewed on PCs in full 256 colour format.
Also you can use the GIF file with ChangeFSI or Translator to see the image
dithered using the RiscOS standard 256 colours. This option is very useful
if you do not have a graphics enhancer or RiscPC since you get most of the
benefits of Fractal's palette facilities.
Image->Mode->... Shows all the available 256 colour modes on your machine.
Image->Size->... Shows the current image size, which can be changed.
Images can be generated in any 256 colour mode, including multi-sync and
custom overscan modes. This allows different resolutions to be chosen as
desired. Alternatively you can set the image size (in pixels) via the SIZE
entry - the size is limited only by memory. Small sizes help speed up
plotting. When using custom sizes you will not see the image being replotted
on screen. Use the Display->Magnify panel to allow extra large images to be
seen all at once. RiscPC modes > 127 are not currently supported by Fractal.
Image->Details
Shows various statistics about the current image, mostly useful when
redisplaying stored images and to see the plotting mechanism used. Create
Time is the length of time taken to create the last fractal displayed. Plots
shows the number of plot operations performed, where this is known - for
some functions this is zero.
Accuracy shows the type of maths